Why Supreme Court Granted Bail To 5 But Not Umar Khalid And Sharjeel Imam
While reading out the verdict, the Supreme Court said it "cannot treat all individuals equally" for bail.
· www.ndtv.comNew Delhi:
Student activists Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid have been denied bail from the Supreme Court in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. While reading out the verdict, the Supreme Court said it "cannot treat all individuals equally" for bail.
The Supreme Court granted bail to five others named in the case: Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed, with conditions.
“The record discloses that all the appellants do not stand on equal footing as regards culpability. The hierarchy of participation requires the court to assess each application individually. Article 21 requires the state to justify prolonged pre-trial custody," the Supreme Court said.
The top court also noted that the two cannot be given the benefit of the delay in the trial.
Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid had challenged the Delhi High Court order denying them bail in a case filed under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or (UAPA), linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
2020 Delhi Riots Case
On February 24, 2020, during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), a communal clash broke out in northeast Delhi. The riots continued for days, leaving more than 50 people, mostly Muslims, dead and over 700 injured.
Twenty people, including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain, were among those who were charged for their alleged involvement in the larger conspiracy to incite the riots.
Delhi Police Opposed Bail Pleas
The Delhi Police have time and again opposed bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, stating the offences they committed involved a deliberate attempt to destabilise the state, and cannot be termed as spontaneous protests. They launched a well-orchestrated "pan-India" conspiracy aiming at "regime change" and "economic strangulation", the police have said.
When Umar Khalid Called Delhi Riots Case FIR A "Joke"
Earlier in September, Umar Khalid opposed the framing of charges in the 2020 Delhi riots "larger conspiracy" case and told a Delhi court that he has spent five years in custody in this "joke of an FIR". He alleged that evidence was fabricated to implicate him.
Khalid alleged that the prosecution first decides to implicate a person and then target him by fabricating documents and filing the chargesheet.
"You first decide 'isko pakadna hai' (this person has to be caught)... then reverse engineering takes place," Khalid's counsel, senior advocate Trideep Pais said.
"There are no linkages (with the actual offences) and we are far away from recovery," he added.
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Supreme Court, Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam Bail Denied