Sharjeel Imam moves Supreme Court after Delhi HC denies bail in Delhi riots 'larger conspiracy' case
In its order, the Delhi High Court said the roles of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid in the 'larger conspiracy' appeared "prima facie grave", and they delivered hate speeches to "instigate mass mobilization of members of the Muslim community."
Student activist Sharjeel Imam moved to the Supreme Court on Saturday, seeking bail in the 'larger conspiracy case' in the February 2020 riots in Delhi. The matter, however, is yet to be listed before the top court.
This comes days after he was denied relief by the Delhi High Court. Apart from Imam, a two-judge bench - which included Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur - had also dismissed bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima.
Why did Delhi High Court deny bail to Imam?
In its order, the court said the roles of Imam and Khalid in the conspiracy appeared "prima facie grave", and the two had delivered hate speeches to "instigate mass mobilization of members of the Muslim community." The high court also noted that Imam and Khalid were the first to mobilise opposition against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, which was passed by the Parliament in December 2019.
"If the exercise of an unfettered right to protest were permitted, it would damage the constitutional framework and impinge upon the law-and-order situation in the country," the court had said. "Any conspiratorial violence under the garb of protests or demonstrations by the citizens cannot be permitted. Such actions must be regulated and checked by the state machinery, as they do not fall within the ambit of freedom of speech, expression and association."
"The discretion to grant or deny bail vests with the constitutional court, depending upon the peculiar facts and circumstances of each of the case," the court added.
About 2020 Delhi riots
In February 2020, violence erupted in parts of Delhi against the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC). The violence left 53 people dead, while more than 700 were injured.
Later, Imam, Khalid and others were booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the IPC. All the accused, who have denied the allegations, have been in jail since 2020, and they sought bail in the Delhi High Court after a trial court rejected their pleas.
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