A Delhi court on Saturday rejected bail petitions of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai after their pleas were opposed by the Delhi Police, which is investigating the case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
"Thus, following the said order of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, this Court cannot entertain the applications and grant bail to the applicants. Infact the applications are not maintainable and they are hereby dismissed," the court said, as reported by Live Law.
Khalid and Imam had filed their applications in the Karkardooma Court after a Supreme Court bench raised doubts over denial of bail to them, expressing reservations over an earlier judgement by another bench of the apex court. That bench had opined that "bail is the rule" even under UAPA cases.
In their pleas, Khalid and Imam argued that their continued incarceration without commencement of trial has violated their fundamental right to liberty. The two said they have been in jail for roughly six years without their trail, while noting that six months have passed after the Supreme Court denied them bail.
Khalid and Imam, along with several others, were arrested under the UAPA and sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for their alleged role in the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi that erupted during protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The riots left around 53 people dead, while more than 700 persons were injured.
Khalid and Imam had earlier moved to the Supreme Court, but on January 5, there bails were rejected in the larger conspiracy case. However, the court granted relief to co-accused Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammad Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad.
On May 22, the apex court also justified denying bail to them because of their role and the and accused-based evaluation in the case; although relief was given to Abdul Khalid Saifi and Tasleem Ahmad. "A coordinate bench cannot make strong observations and effectively unsettle the ratio of an earlier bench while sitting in equal strength," the court had said back then.
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