The Supreme Court on Monday denied bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. The bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria have granted bail to activists Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad in the case.
What is the 2020 Delhi Riots Case?
A communal clash blew up in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, during the widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). These riots are one of the deadliest which the national capital has witnessed in decades. It went on for days, leaving more than 50 people 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.
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What charges were involved?
Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have been arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). It is an anti-terror law and provisions of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the 2020 riots. The Delhi Police has rejected their bail pleas, mentioning that the riots were not random but an "orchestrated, pre-planned and well-designed" attack on India's sovereignty.
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In November last year, the Delhi Police had notified the high court that they had recorded 757 FIRs in relation to the riots and that investigation was pending in 273 cases, and trial was pending in 250. The Supreme Court denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots case, where five others in the case were granted bail.
