The Delhi High Court observed that a rushed trial in the Delhi Riots conspiracy case would harm both the accused and the State while denying bail to Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, and others booked under UAPA. The Court noted their alleged “inflammatory speeches” and upheld the gravity of their roles in the conspiracy.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said that conducting a hurried trial in the Delhi Riots conspiracy case would not be fair either to the accused persons or to the State.
A Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur pointed out that the Delhi Police had already filed a very lengthy chargesheet of around 3,000 pages, along with nearly 30,000 pages of electronic records as evidence.
The judges noted that the police had carried out a detailed investigation and arrested several individuals in connection with the case.
Taking this into account, the Bench said,
“the pace of the trial will progress naturally.”
The Court added further that,
“A hurried trial would also be detrimental to the rights of both the Appellants and the State. The parties have informed this Court that the trial is currently at the stage of hearing arguments on the framing of charges, thus, it indicates that the case is progressing.”
Lawyers for the accused had argued that one of the main reasons for seeking bail was the delay in the trial. However, the Court did not accept this ground.
The observations came while the Bench rejected bail pleas filed by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima.
All of them are facing prosecution under the strict provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the case.
In its detailed judgment, the Court specifically discussed the role of some of the accused. Referring to Umar Khalid, the Court recorded that he had delivered speeches in Amravati at a time that
“coincided with the visit of US President Donald Trump, and the same cannot be lightly brushed aside.”
The Bench also held that both Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid had a very serious role in the conspiracy. The judges noted that they had delivered
“inflammatory speeches on communal lines to instigate a mass mobilization of members of the Muslim Community.”
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On this point, the Court underlined that
“The probative value of the evidence against the Appellants Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, prima facie and at this stage, cannot be branded as weak.”
With these observations, the Delhi High Court refused to grant bail to all the accused and made it clear that the trial will move forward at its natural pace without any undue hurry.
Case Title:
Sharjeel Imam v State of NCT of Delhi
Read Judgement:
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