NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday reserved its verdict on bail pleas by Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia president Shifa-ur-Rehman and student activist Gulfisha Fatima in the case concerning the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 riots. A bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain heard the submissions by the counsel for the accused as well as the special public prosecutor.
Rehman, Fatima and several others, including student activists Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, and Natasha Narwal, have been booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the IPC for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi.
The bail pleas were earlier pending before a division bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul who was last year appointed the Chief Justice of Manipur High Court.
SPP Amit Prasad, appearing for the Delhi Police, opposed the bail pleas, saying the statement of the protected witnesses showed the prima facie role of the accused persons in the conspiracy to cause violence.