No Bail To Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, 7 Others In 2020 Delhi Riots Case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and five others in the 2020 Delhi riots 2020 conspiracy case.

A Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur pronounced the verdict, with the former saying, "All appeals are dismissed." Apart from Mr Khalid and Mr Imam, the bail pleas of Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima were also rejected.

Most of the accused sought bail from the High Court on the grounds of delay in trial leading to their prolonged incarceration in jail.

The Bench had reserved its order on July 9 after hearing the arguments on behalf of the Delhi Police and various accused.

While challenging the trial court orders refusing bail, Mr Imam, Mr Khalid and others cited their long incarceration and parity with other co-accused who were granted bail.

During the hearing, the Delhi Police strongly opposed the bail plea, saying it was not a case of spontaneous riots but a case where riots were planned well in advance with a sinister motive and well-thought-out conspiracy.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the prosecution, contended that it was a conspiracy to defame India on a global level and mere long incarceration is no ground for bail. "If you do anything against your nation, you better be in jail till you are acquitted," Mr Mehta argued.

Mr Imam's counsel had earlier argued that he was "completely disconnected" with the place, time and co-accused persons, including Mr Khalid. His speeches and WhatsApp chats never called for any unrest, he had argued.

The accused were booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence had erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The bail pleas have been pending in the High Court since 2022 and were heard by different Benches from time to time.

Police have opposed the bail applications of all accused, saying the communal violence of February 2020 was a case of "clinical and pathological conspiracy". Speeches by the accused created a sense of fear with their common pattern of reference to CAA-NRC, Babri mosque, triple talaq and Jammu and Kashmir, police alleged.

The Delhi Police has contended that in a case involving such "grave" offences, the principle of 'bail is the rule and jail is the exception' could not be invoked.

It has also stated that there was no material to suggest any attempt by the prosecution to delay the trial court proceedings and right to speedy trial was not a "free pass".