High Court Reserves Judgment On Bail Pleas Of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam & 5 Others In Delhi Riots Larger Conspiracy Case

"If you are doing something against the nation, then you better be in jail till you are acquitted or convicted," said Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta while opposing bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and other accused in the 2020 Delhi riots "larger conspiracy" case before the Delhi High Court. 

After hearing the matter for some the court reserved its verdict in bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Shifa ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima. It has kept the bail plea of Shadab Ahmed on Thursday at 4pm for further hearing. 

The Solicitor General, who appeared on behalf of the Delhi Police before a division bench of Justice Naveen Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur, termed the probe in the case as one of the "finest investigations" which had been carried out. 

He said, "The riots were pre planned, well organized and with the view to achieve a sinister goal which by itself is an example which would disqualify them from seeking any relief of bail. It is not just a case of bail in regular riots cases, it is a very well thought, well orchestrated criminal conspiracy which starts in the capital of the country aiming at a particular day and time". 

He said the accused persons' intention was globally defame the nation by choosing a particular day for more rioting and more arson. 

He thereafter referred to a purported speeches made by Sharjeel Imam referring to Assam and said, "This is dividing the nation permanently, based on religious lines". 

"This is not a riots case where someone can say it is long incarceration and I should get bail. This is preparing for dividing the nation, cutting the nation based on a particular religion," SG Mehta emphasized.

He further said that all the phone numbers used by accused, including Umar Khalid and substantially all, were based on false and fake documents. He further said:

"They (petitioners) showed a narrative that intellectual are in jail. Their intention was to divide the nation on religious lines. This is not a spontaneous riot… The intention was to cause national embarrassment at global level. 24 February 2020 was the day of US President visit. Sharjeel Imam delivers a week clearly indicating the timeline. He says we have four weeks. He was referring to potential date being declared when US President would come. Action starts on 23 February 2020. There was clear unambiguous intention of putting entire nation to shame by doing something in the national capital where president of one of the countries was to visit our country". 

He further said that on February 23 February, 2020 riots broke. He further referred to coverage by global media on the 2020 riots and placed on record how global media took this. 

"It was the intention, the intention was that global media takes note of this and country is ashamed," he said. 

He referred to a article by The Guardian and said, "Please see the violence photos all over the global media. This is what Sharjeel Imam says “humare paas chaar hafte hain, dilli ko dehla dena hain.” They are all acting in concert. Everyone. Gulfisha and Umar Khalid. They are in touch with each other. There is a whatsapp group. The planning for this incident was deliberate act to put the nation to shame. It started a day before". 

Referring to statements of protected witnesses SG Mehta said, "Road block was an instrument during free struggle also but not with this intention ki “ladai jhade dange hojaye, log maare jaaye.” This is no expression of anger or unacceptability of something which is a legislation". 

Referring to statement of protected witness Radium Mehta said that the "decision making body (accused)" is in front of the court "and there are foot soldiers also".

With respect to the use of a "gulel" during the riots SG Mehta referred to a photograph and said:

"The most surprising and shocking part- “gulel” word. (Showing a photograph) This is not a gulel for childrens play. It is a gulel by which you can throw stones, bricks, acid bombs, petrol bombs. It is a structure made of iron… It can be used by four people because it is a huge structure". 

Referring to DPSG WhatsApp group Mehta said, "Some of the members never knew.. they thought it was a protest against a law. They never knew it was intended to be a terrorist (act)". 

He said that accused were onto something else and they were not on protesting against a law.

“This is the only case I have come across where a person converts white money into black money. Normally it is reverse,” he added while referring to a witness statement alleging transaction exchange between Khalid Saifi and Ishrat Jahan.

He then referred to a coordinate bench's 2022 order denying bail to Umar Khalid and said that this order refers to the incident as a terrorist act.

Referring to judgments on the issue SG Mehta said, "Long incarceration is certainly a ground (for bail) but not in such matters where you are ensuring that the country bleeds violence and wanting to break the country in two parts"

He further said that anti-national activities had been shown by the respondent in detail.

While concluding he said, "In conclusion, please don't treat it as a mere riots case. It is a case of premeditated attack on the sovereignty of the nation by doing something in the national capital". 

The court reserved its verdict on the bail pleas of all accused except Shadab Ahmed and listed his plea tomorrow. It further permitted the parties to file written submissions, within three days. 

The bench has further asked Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, appearing for Delhi Police, to address arguments specifically on Ahmed's contentions that he has been granted bail in another FIR against him and that there are contradictions in statements of protected witnesses.