SC denies bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in Delhi riots case

The Supreme Court SC on Monday refused bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case while granting bail to five other accused citing the ldquohierarchy of participationrdquo and noting that not all accused stand on the same footing news agency PTI reportedA bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria observed that there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Imam under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA While the two will remain in jail activists Gulfisha Fatima Meeran Haider Shifa Ur Rehman Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad have been granted bailThe court said Khalid and Imam could file fresh bail applications after the examination of protected witnesses or one year from today noting that their roles are ldquoqualitatively differentrdquo from the other accused PTI reportedldquoThe prosecution prima facie disclosed a central and formative role and involvement in the level of planning mobilisation and strategic direction extending beyond episodic and localised actsrdquo the bench saidThe February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi left 53 people dead and more than 700 injuredldquoDelay in trial does not operate as a trump card which automatically displaces statutory safeguardsrdquo the bench said adding that ldquoall the appellants do not stand on equal footing as regards culpability The hierarchy of participation emerging from the prosecutionrsquos case requires the court to examine each application individuallyrdquoldquoThis court is satisfied that the prosecution material disclosed a prima facie allegation against the appellants Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam This stage of proceedings does not justify their enlargement on bailrdquo the apex court saidDelhi riots case SC directs trial court to expedite bailThe top court directed the trial court to expedite bail processes imposing 12 conditions and warning that any misuse of liberty would attract cancellation of bail PTI reportedldquoRight to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution requires the State to justify prolonged pretrial custodyrdquo the bench addedThe court also clarified that while bail in UAPA cases is not granted as a matter of routine the law does not mandate automatic denial and the court retains jurisdiction to allow bailImam was first arrested on January 28 2020 for speeches made during antiCAA protests and later in a broader conspiracy case in August 2020 Khalid was arrested on September 13 2020On December 10 the top court reserved its verdict on separate pleas of the accused after hearing arguments from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju for Delhi Police and senior advocates Kapil Sibal Abhishek Singhvi Siddhartha Dave Salman Khurshid and Sidharth Luthra for the accusedOpposing the bail pleas Delhi Police argued that the riots were preplanned and wellorchestrated describing them as a deliberate attack on Indiarsquos sovereignty Raju contended that all participants are liable for each otherrsquos acts under the conspiracy and that Imamrsquos speeches could be attributed to Khalid He also argued that Khalid had deliberately planned to leave Delhi before the riots to deflect responsibilitySeeking bail Imam said he had been labelled a ldquodangerous intellectual terroristrdquo without a full trial or a single conviction Senior advocate Siddharth Dave argued that Imamrsquos January 28 arrest was before the communal violence erupted and that his speeches alone could not constitute a criminal conspiracy in the riotsAll seven accused were booked under the stringent antiterror UAPA and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the ldquomastermindsrdquo behind the riots Section 16 of the UAPA states that anyone committing a terrorist act resulting in death can face life imprisonment or the death penalty in addition to a fineThe violence occurred during widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act CAA and the National Register of Citizens NRC The accused had approached the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Courtrsquos September 2 order denying them bail in the larger conspiracy caseWith PTI inputs