SC Adjourns Bail Pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Others in 2020 Delhi Riots Case

New Delhi, Sept 12: The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned till September 19 the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, and Meeran Haider in the UAPA case linked to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots.

Hearing Adjourned

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria said the court had received the case files late, leading to the adjournment.

High Court’s Earlier Ruling

The activists had challenged the September 2 Delhi High Court order, which rejected bail for nine accused, including Khalid and Imam. The High Court observed that while citizens have the constitutional right to protest peacefully under Article 19(1)(a), “conspiratorial” violence in the guise of demonstrations could not be tolerated.

The High Court emphasized that the right to protest is not absolute and is subject to reasonable restrictions to safeguard law and order.

Background of the Case

Khalid, Imam, Fatima, Haider, and others — including Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Shadab Ahmed — were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the IPC for allegedly being “masterminds” of the 2020 riots.

The communal violence, which broke out during protests against the CAA and NRC, left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

Accused Deny Charges

The accused have denied all allegations and have been in jail since 2020. Their earlier bail pleas were rejected by the trial court before they approached the High Court and now the Supreme Court.

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Source: PTI Report

Labels: Supreme Court, Delhi Riots, Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, UAPA, Bail

Tags: #SupremeCourt #DelhiRiots #UAPA #UmarKhalid #SharjeelImam #BailPlea

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