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SC reserves order on bail pleas by Umar Khalid, others accused in Delhi riots ‘larger conspiracy’
The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict on applications for bail filed by activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and the others accused of being part of an alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots, The Indian Express reported.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria concluded hearing the petitions filed by Khalid, Imam, along with Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Muhammad Saleem Khan, Shifa-ur-Rehman and Shadab Ahmed, jointly challenging the Delhi High Court's September 2 judgement dismissing their bail petitions.
During the proceedings on Wednesday, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the Delhi Police, claimed that the acts of one conspirator could be attributed to the others, Bar and Bench reported.
“Sharjeel Imam's speeches can be attributed to Umar Khalid,” Raju said. “Sharjeel Imam's case will be considered as evidence against the others.”
Reserving its matter in the riots case, the Supreme Court said that it would take a decision in the matter before it closes for winter break on December 19. The bench also directed all parties to compile and submit relevant documents before December 18.
The activists were arrested between January 2020 and September 2020 in connection with the communal violence that broke out in North East Delhi in February 2020 between supporters of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it. The violence had left 53 dead and hundreds injured. Most of those killed were Muslims.
The accused were charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the Arms Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code.
After the High Court denied them bail on September 2, the activists moved the Supreme Court for relief and it subsequently issued notice to the Delhi Police on September 22.
On October 30, in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Delhi Police opposed their petitions, arguing that their alleged actions were part of a coordinated “regime change operation” carried out under the guise of civil dissent.
The Delhi Police had also submitted that the petitioners were playing the “victim card” on the grounds of long incarceration, and claimed that they were themselves responsible for delaying the trial for “mala fide and mischievous reasons”.
On the other hand, the accused have maintained that they were exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest and that the larger conspiracy case is an attempt to criminalise dissent.
They have argued that their prolonged incarceration amounts to punishment before conviction, as the trial court is yet to frame charges and dozens of witnesses remain to be examined.
They have also sought parity with the other co-accused in the case – student activists Asif Iqbal Tanha, Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal – who were granted bail in June 2021.
On Wednesday, the additional solicitor general said that the prosecution could not be blamed for delay in trial.
“The accused can't say wait for further evidence to come and then I'll argue on charges,” Bar and Bench quoted Raju as saying. “If other evidence comes you can modify charge. There can be discharge if there is no evidence.”
He added that the accused cannot say that they will not argue on charges till other evidence comes.
In response, the bench noted that Khalid was listed as an accused in the second chargesheet, adding that the grievance of the accused was that “you went one after the other”.
Raju also alleged that Khalid “deliberately planned” to leave Delhi before the riots happened, adding that he wanted to “deflect” responsibility, The Indian Express reported.
“The planning was done by Umar Khalid,” the newspaper quoted the additional solicitor general as claiming. “They have misstated that he was not admin of Delhi Protest Support Group [DPSG] and only admins could send messages [on WhatsApp].”
The bench also questioned the Delhi Police for relying on an unrelated first information report filed in 2016 related to slogans about dividing the country allegedly being chanted at Jawaharlal Nehru University in the current matter pertaining to the riots.
In response, Raju claimed that a conspiracy begins before an act, adding that this could start even two years earlier, The Indian Express reported.
“As per protected witness… all instructions came from Umar Khalid,” The Indian Express quoted him as saying. “…Umar Khalid was actually present on the ground on the first stage of the protest.”
He added that there were call data records to establish this.
The bench also asked what speeches had to do with what happened on the ground in order for it to constitute a terrorist act. Raju, in response, claimed that it was “speech” that “led to action”.
Source: Scroll
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Ikkis Movie Review And Ratings: Sriram Raghavan's upcoming directional Ikkis is special – it will be Dharmendra's last movie on the big screen. While the film will hit theatres on January 1, a special screening was recently held in Mumbai, which was attended by several stars. Among others
2 months ago
