Delhi Riots Case: SC Tells Delhi Police To Respond To Bail Pleas Of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam; Next Hearing On Oct 27

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Delhi police on pleas of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, and Shifa Ur Rehman challenging the Delhi High Court order, which denied them bail in the UAPA case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots. 

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria posted the matter for hearing on October 27. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said they are students and have been in jail for over five years.
"Yes, we will hear you and dispose of it... Issue notice in all," the bench ordered. 

The Delhi High Court on September 2 denied bail to Imam, Khalid, and seven others - Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Gulfisha Fatima. On September 2, the bail plea of another accused, Tasleem Ahme, was rejected by a different High Court bench. 

Delhi Police had opposed their bail pleas, 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". The High Court had observed that prima facie, the role of Imam and Khalid in the entire conspiracy was "grave", having delivered inflammatory speeches on communal lines to “instigate mass mobilisation of members of the Muslim community.” 

They sought bail from the apex court in the larger conspiracy case under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Delhi riots case in February 2020. In 2020, the Delhi police arrested Imam under the UAPA and named him the main conspirator behind the Delhi riots case. The violence had erupted during the protests against the then-proposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

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