By Tasneem Bandukwala
The Supreme Court of India has issued notices in the case commonly referred to as the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2020 Delhi riots, marking the escalating legal battle surrounding the arrests of activists including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. The court deferred further proceedings, setting the next hearing for October 7.
The petitioners are Khalid, Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa Ur Rehman and they too are seeking bail, having had their earlier applications turned down by the Delhi High Court. The High Court had emphasised the “grave” nature of their alleged roles in what police claim was a premeditated effort to incite communal violence.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A.M. Singhvi, representing the petitioners, argued before the top court that their continued incarceration for over five years is deeply troubling. They urged that the bail pleas be heard well before Diwali so that the accused might be released ahead of the festival.
According to the police, the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi were not spontaneous but rather the product of conspiracy. Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam are accused of having delivered inflammatory speeches that allegedly inflamed communal lines.
The violence, which broke out during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and Manmohan, heard the arguments on Monday and deferred the matter to October 7.
The upcoming hearing is seen as crucial by legal observers, as it may set a precedent regarding prolonged detention, bail under anti-terror laws such as the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, under which Imam was arrested), and the threshold for what constitutes “conspiratorial” conduct in mass violence cases.