The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the release of five activists by granting them bail. However, the apex court refused bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, citing the “hierarchy of participation”.
Those granted bail by the Supreme Court include activists Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad, while Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam will remain in jail.
While denying bail to Khalid and Imam, the court observed that a prima facie case had been made out against them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The two-judge bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria held that delay in trial does not operate as a “trump card” that automatically overrides statutory safeguards.
“All the appellants do not stand on equal footing as regards culpability. The hierarchy of participation emerging from the prosecution’s case requires the court to examine each application individually,” the bench noted, adding that the roles attributed to the accused differed.
“The grant of bail to these accused persons is not a dilution of the allegations,” the court said, emphasising that each accused must be assessed on an individual basis.
What charges have been filed against Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam?
Sharjeel Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police on January 28, 2020, from Jehanabad in Bihar, in connection with a sedition case over his alleged inflammatory speeches opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He was subsequently named as an accused in the FIR related to the alleged conspiracy behind the Delhi riots.
Umar Khalid was taken into custody in September 2020 in connection with what the police described as the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
Khalid and Imam, along with Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider and Shifa Ur Rehman, have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), as well as various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), for allegedly orchestrating the riots that claimed 53 lives and left more than 700 people injured.
Here's what Umar Khalid's father said after judgement:
After the judgement, Umar Khalid's Father S Qasim Ilyas told news agency PTI, "I have no comment to offer. It is very unfortunate. The judgment is there, and I have nothing to say about it."
