The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing of bail pleas filed by activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Meeran Haider in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case linked to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots. The matter will now be taken up on September 19.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria said the case files had been received too late to be considered during the day’s hearing, prompting the adjournment.
The activists have approached the apex court against the September 2 Delhi High Court order which refused bail to nine accused, including Khalid and Imam. The high court held that “conspiratorial” violence under the guise of citizen protests cannot be tolerated.
Besides Khalid, Imam and Fatima, the bail pleas of Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Shadab Ahmed were also rejected by the high court. A different bench of the court had, on the same day, dismissed the bail plea of another accused, Tasleem Ahmed.
In its order, the Delhi High Court acknowledged that the Constitution guarantees citizens the right to protest and assemble peacefully. It noted that actions such as demonstrations and speeches in public meetings are protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, but stressed that these rights are “not absolute” and subject to reasonable restrictions.
“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 observed while rejecting the bail petitions.
Khalid, Imam and the other accused have been charged under the UAPA and relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 communal riots in Delhi, which claimed 53 lives and left over 700 injured.
The violence had erupted during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).
