In a case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), activist Umar Khalid has approached the Supreme Court challenging the ruling of the Delhi High Court that refused him bail in the Delhi riots conspiracy case in 2020. The petition was filed several days after the high court, on September 2, denied bail requests of nine accused, including Khalid and another activist, Sharjeel Imam. Other bail applications rejected are those of Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shadab Ahmed. The plea of another co-accused, Tasleem Ahmad, was also dismissed by a different bench on the same day. The Imam and Fatima have already appealed the verdict against the Supreme Court.
Delhi High Court emphasized in its order that though Article 19(1)(a) in the Constitution provides the right to protest, the right is not absolute and hence should be subjected to reasonable limitations. The court noted that violence in the guise of demonstrations or protests cannot be allowed and that uncontrolled demonstrations might jeopardize the order and destroy the constitutional fabric.
The accused were charged under UAPA and parts of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) when it was alleged that they masterminded the communal violence that took place in Delhi in February 2020 and left more than 700 people injured and 53 dead. The riots erupted in the middle of nationwide protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
On their part, Khalid and others told the court that they have been in custody in excess of four years, and their trial has not been concluded. They wanted bail in parity with the other accused, Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who had been put on bail in 2021.
Raising an objection to the bail requests, Delhi Police insisted that the riots were not spontaneous, but rather a well-planned conspiracy to cause communal tension and put India into disrepute in the world arena. The other accused and Khalid deny.
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