New Delhi [India], July 9 : The Delhi High Court on Wednesday reserved order on bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and six other accused in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.
Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta opposed the bail pleas by submitting that in UAPA cases relating to mass violence impact national security and integrity, bail ought not to be granted.
On the other hand, the counsel for the accused had argued that there was a long delay in the trial, and even the charges had not been framed; the matter was at the stage of arguments on charges.
A division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur reserved the order after hearing submissions of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.
SG Mehta appeared along with Special Public Prosecutors Amit Prasad and Madhukar Pandey. Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Pramod Kushwaha was also present during the hearing.
SG Tushar Mehta, while opposing the bail pleas, referred to an accused who had said that they were ready for riots, if they had to, to protest against CAA and NRC.
He also referred to the portion of the speech where Sharjeel Imam had said that we can separate the chicken neck (North East) from the rest of India forever. "If not forever, then for at least a month," the SG quoted Imam.
"Sharjeel, during his speech, had also said that you are aware of the condition of Muslims in Assam. Assam is of Muslims," the SG submitted.
It was also submitted that Sharjeel Imam, in his speech, had allegedly said that nothing would happen unless 100-200 people died.
It was further submitted that the conspiracy was to organise 'chakka jam' leading to violence during the visit of US President Donald Trump so that India can be defamed at international level. It is also stated that riots took place as per a conspiracy and were covered by the media.
He also referred to the statement of a protected witness who witnessed a meeting attended by Umar Khalid. This meeting was attended by other accused persons also.
SG further said that all the accused are connected. There was a WhatsApp group. SG also referred to a statement of protected witnesses. "One of the witnesses stated that there was a plan to dislocate or shut down the CCTV. The report related to this fact is enclosed in the chargesheet," the SG submitted.
SG further referred to the use of a catapult to throw stones, bricks, and petrol bombs.
SG Mehta said that these riots were financed by five accused, namely Tahir Hussain, Ishrat Jahan, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Shifa ur Rehman and Meeran Haider.
He also submitted that Tahir Husain converted his white money into black money to finance the riots. It was also submitted that the accused persons were not onto the protest but were planning something else.
Mehta also mentioned that the Delhi High Court denied bail to Umar Khalid and referred that it was a terrorist act.
The High Court is dealing with bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others. They had challenged the trial court orders dismissing their bail, citing the embargo under UAPA, the SG submitted.
Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha have been granted regular bail by the Delhi High Court on June 15, 2021, after allowing their appeals against the trial court order. The accused, Ishrat Jahan, was granted bail by the trial court.
This case pertains to the allegations of a larger conspiracy for riots hatched by the accused persons.
In this case, 18 accused have been charged and sheeted under UAPA, and two are absconding.
As per the Delhi police, 53 persons died and hundreds were injured in the North East Delhi Riots in February 2020. More than 700 FIRs were registered against several accused persons in different police stations of North East Delhi and other areas.
Delhi police have filed a charge sheet and supplementary charge sheets in a larger conspiracy case. This case is at the stage of arguments on charges.