NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday told the Delhi High Court to expeditiously hear the bail plea of student activist Sharjeel Imam in an Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) case related to the 2020 Delhi riots, which has been pending since 2022.
A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and S C Sharma said it was not inclined to entertain the plea, which also sought bail under Article 32 of the Constitution.
Imam's counsel, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, said the bail plea had been pending since 2022 while clarifying he was not pressing for bail at the present stage.
The top court noted the high court would be hearing the case on November 25.
"This being the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the constitution, we are not inclined to entertain the same. However, petitioner shall be at liberty to request the high court to hear the bail application as expeditiously as possible preferably on November 25, as fixed by the high court. The high court shall consider the said request," held the bench.
Imam and several others were booked under the stringent provisions UAPA and the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the "larger conspiracy" behind the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people, mostly Muslims dead and over 700 injured.
The riots broke out after several BJP leaders including Kapil Mishra gave speeches inciting violence against those protesting the Citizenship Amendment Act in February 2020.
As many as 53 people, two-thirds belonging to the Muslim community, were killed in the violence. Vehicles were gutted and shops were destroyed. The dead also included over a dozen Hindus.
The Delhi Police has registered more than 750 FIRs in connection with the incident. Nearly 2,000 people were arrested by the police in the following months as it continued the investigation.
Student leaders and human rights activists who were at the forefront of the anti-CAA protests were picked up by the police, accusing them of being the masterminds behind the violence. The arrested activists include Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Meeran Haider, former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Gulshan Fatima, Khalid Safi, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, and former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain.
The courts have repeatedly pulled up the Delhi Police for its “shoddy probe” into the cases. Till now, of all, 47 people have been convicted while more than 180 have been acquitted. Around 1,700 accused are currently out on bail. Meanwhile, several of the accused like Sharjeel Imam remain in jail without trial.