Political Protest Not An Unlawful Act, Embarrassing Govt Not Terror Offence: Safoora Zargar Tells Court In Delhi Riots UAPA Case

Safoora Zargar, accused in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, on Tuesday made submissions before a Delhi Court seeking discharge in the UAPA case probed by Delhi Police's Special Cell.

Zargar is presently out on bail in the case.

Advocate Shahrukh Alam submitted before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma Courts that embarrassing the government us neither a terror offence nor any offence under any other statute.

“Even if I embarrass the government, it is not an offence. Leave alone terror [offence]…. Embarrassment by citizen of the government or the citizens being embarrassed by the government, neither of it is a terror offence, neither it is any kind of offence,” Alam argued.

“In a democracy, the government is not embarrassed by the citizens. In a democracy, citizens hope that the government does not embarrass them,” she continued.

Alam took the Court through the allegations made against Zargar in the chargesheet. She said that the prosecution has alleged that there was an unlawful act and a conspiracy to destabilise the State, which was independent of the politically charged issue of Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Alam submitted that political protest or political campaign cannot be an unlawful act. She said that an unlawful act can only be something which is unconnected with the protest, sole purpose of which was to cause destruction.

She submitted further that no motive or objective was presented for the alleged desire to cause death, injuries or damage to properties.

She said that since the chargesheet alleges that acts were done to threaten the unity of India by use of fire bombs and acid attacks to cause death, injuries and damage to properties, the prosecution will have to meet the threshold and present evidence that the motive was not to express angst against CAA but to actually cause destruction.

“What is the problem here? The problem is not political campaign and political protest but the problem is that there was a deep rooted conspiracy which was sinister and for disturbing the societal harmony,” she said while going through the chargesheet allegations.

Alam argued that the evidence must show that Zargar's objective was not to protest against CAA but to cause destruction. Evidence has to meet that threshold, she said.

She further said that it will not be sufficient for the prosecution to say that Zargar was participating in the protest or may have been organizing the protest but the evidence will have to show that it was her motive to conspire for causing destruction.

The matter will continued to be heard tomorrow.

FIR 59 of 2020 was registered by Delhi Police's Special Cell under various offences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The accused in the case are Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Isharat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan and Natasha Narwal.