NEW DELHI: Opposing the bail pleas of the activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others in the February 2020 riots case, Delhi Police on the second day of the Supreme Court hearing said that it had become a trend now for doctors and engineers to engage in anti-national activities.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, appearing for the Delhi police, told the bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria that the delay in trial was attributable to the accused, and they cannot take advantage of it.
Narrating how Imam allegedly gave inflammatory speeches against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), Raju showed a video about the culpability of him and his offence. “Look at the way he is speaking,” Raju told the top court.
“When intellectuals become terrorists, they become more dangerous than those working on the ground,” Raju told the Supreme Court bench. The hearing on Thursday in the top court was inconclusive and would continue on Friday with the same bench of judges.
The ASG, Raju, also cited the statements of certain protected witnesses. He further pointed out that the court need not go into the correctness of the evidence and clarified that his attempt was to show that there was evidence for a prima facie case. Raju added, “It’s not a simple protest. These are violent protests. They are talking about blockades.” At this juncture, Justice Kumar asked if the speeches were part of the chargesheet, to which Raju replied in the affirmative.
Khalid, Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, and Rehman were booked under the UAPA, the stringent anti-terror law, and provisions of the erstwhile IPC for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
Raju also submitted that Umar Khalid cannot claim parity with Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha, the co-accused in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, as the 2021 order of the Delhi HC giving them bail was passed on an incorrect interpretation of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Echoing similar voices, the Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had contended that the public statements of the accused reflect a pre-planned conspiracy to attack the sovereignty of the nation.