The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday the bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others in the UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy to spark the February 2020 Delhi riots.
A two-judge bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria is likely to take over the matter for hearing.
Apart from Khalid and Imam, the bench will also hear the bail pleas of Gulfisha Fatima and Meeran Haider in the same case.
This comes more than a month after the SC asked the Delhi Police to respond on the bail pleas of the jailed activists. The Supreme Court issued the notification on September 22.
Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others have moved the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court’s decision to deny them bail in the 2020 Delhi riots case.
Delhi 2020 riots case: What did HC say?
The Delhi High Court on September 2 denied bail to nine people, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, saying “conspiratorial” violence under the guise of demonstrations or citizen protests cannot be tolerated.
Apart from Khalid and the imam, Fatima, Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Shadab Ahmed faced bail denial.
The bail application of another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, was rejected by another bench of the apex court on 2 September.
The Supreme Court said the constitution gives citizens the right to protest and hold demonstrations or agitations, provided they are orderly, peaceful and without weapons, and such actions must be within the limits of the law.
While the Supreme Court stated that the right to participate in peaceful protests and to make speeches in public assemblies was protected under Article 19(1)(a). a) and cannot be shamelessly limited, he noted that this right is “not absolute” and “subject to reasonable limitations”.
“If the unrestricted right to protest is allowed to be exercised, it would damage the constitutional framework and interfere with the legal order of the country,” the bail denial order said.
Khalid, Imam and the rest of the accused were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the former IPC for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 Delhi riots that left 53 dead and over 700 injured.
Violence erupted during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens.
If the unrestricted right to protest was allowed to be exercised, it would damage the constitutional framework and interfere with the legal order of the country.
The defendants, who denied all the charges against them, have been in jail since 2020 and moved to the High Court after the trial court rejected their bail applications.
(With input from agencies)
