SC to Hear Bail Pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam
New Delhi: The Supreme Court will on Monday hear bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Meeran Haider in the UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in Delhi. A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria is likely to hear the matter.
The high court issued a notice to the Delhi Police on September 22, seeking its response. Activists moved the top court challenging the decision passed by the Delhi High Court on September 2.
The high court denied bail to nine people, including Khalid and Imam, and said citizens cannot be allowed to use “conspiratorial” violence under the guise of demonstration or protest.
Besides Khalid and Imam, those who were denied bail include Fatima, Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Shadab Ahmed.
The bail request of another defendant, Tasleem Ahmed, was rejected by a different high court panel on September 2. The apex court said the Constitution grants citizens the right to protest and organize demonstrations or agitations provided they are orderly, peaceful and unarmed, and such actions must be within the limits of law.
While the apex court stated that the right to participate in peaceful protests and address public meetings is protected under Article 19(1)(a) and cannot be expressly restricted, it observed that this right is “not absolute” and is “subject to reasonable restrictions”.
“If the exercise of the unrestricted right to protest is allowed, it will undermine the constitutional framework and harm the law and order situation in the country,” the bail rejection order said. It was said.
Khalid, Imam and other accused have been investigated under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and erstwhile IPC provisions for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots that left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The violence broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens. The defendants, who denied all allegations against them, had been in prison since 2020 and were moved to the high court after the first instance court rejected their bail requests.
