In a significant development, the Supreme Court has urged the Delhi Police to consider granting bail to the accused in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. The court highlighted that most of the accused have been in custody for close to five years.
A bench comprising justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria directed Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the Delhi Police, to “See if you can, Mr Raju…if something can be done…This is only about consideration of bail. See five years are over already.”
The court’s observations came as it refused to grant additional time to the Delhi Police to file their counter-affidavits on the bail petitions submitted by student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa-ur-Rehman. The police have been directed to submit their response this week, with the next hearing scheduled for Friday, October 31.
When ASG Raju requested two weeks to file the counter-affidavits, the bench pointed out that sufficient time had already been given. “We have given you enough time. You may be appearing for the first time. Last time we said issue notice and we said in that open court that we will hear this matter on October 27 and dispose it off,” the bench told the law officer.
The court questioned the necessity of a counter-affidavit in a bail matter when ASG Raju persisted for more time. The bench remained firm on its decision, scheduling the hearing later in the week.
Notably, the court also encouraged the Delhi Police to “examine if you can think of coming out with something…”, implying a suggestion to consider granting bail by concession, particularly given the prolonged period of incarceration and the slow pace of the trial.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Siddharth Dave, and Siddharth Agarwal, appearing for the accused, emphasized that their clients had been imprisoned for over four to five years, with the trial progressing extremely slowly. Singhvi argued, “The whole case is about delay in trial. There should not be further delay in hearing.”
This is not the first time the apex court has faced difficulties in hearing the matter. Previously, hearings were deferred on September 12 due to delays in receiving case records and on September 19 when Justice Manmohan recused himself owing to a prior professional association with Kapil Sibal. The case has since been re-listed before the current bench.
The accused, including Imam, Khalid, Fatima, Haider, and Rehman, are among nine individuals whose bail pleas were previously rejected by the Delhi High Court on September 2. The High Court had characterized their roles in the alleged conspiracy as “prima facie grave,” suggesting evidence of a coordinated plan behind the riots that resulted in 53 deaths and hundreds of injuries in February 2020.
The High Court had noted that Khalid and Imam were instrumental in mobilizing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) through speeches and other means, which investigators claim escalated into a conspiracy to incite violence. The court ruled that their physical absence from riot sites did not absolve them, as the alleged planning preceded the actual violence.
The Delhi Police, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and special public prosecutor Amit Prasad, had described the accused as “intellectual architects” of the conspiracy. However, the accused have consistently maintained their innocence, asserting that they were exercising their constitutional right to protest and were not involved in inciting violence. They argue that their prolonged detention amounts to punishment without a trial, citing the numerous supplementary charge sheets and the large number of witnesses yet to be examined.
The accused are also seeking parity with student activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who were granted bail by the Delhi High Court in 2021.
Imam has been in custody since January 2020, while Khalid was arrested in September 2020. The other co-accused have also been incarcerated for similar durations.