The Supreme Court on Monday pulled up the Delhi Police for failing to file its response to the bail pleas filed by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and three others in the larger conspiracy case in relation to the 2020 North East Delhi riots [Umar Khalid v. State of NCT Delhi].
A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria said that it had given the Delhi Police enough time to reply to the pleas and earlier made it clear that the matter will be disposed of on October 27.
In all bail matters, there is no question of filing reply, the Court remarked.
"We made it clear. You [ASG] may be appearing for first time. We granted sufficient time," the Court told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju after he sought two more weeks to respond to the appeals filed by the accused.
The Court then told ASG to argue tomorrow or day after. However, ASG Raju pressed for more time to respond.
"No, no, argue day after with counter. Mr [Kapil] Sibal said before Diwali and we said no," it said.
Ultimately, the Court adjourned the matter to Friday. It also pointed to the fact that the accused have been in jail for about five years without trial.
"On Friday, you ensure you have proper instructions...we will hear it. See if you can Mr Raju...if something can be done...this is only about consideration of bail. See 5 years are over already," it said.
Senior counsel Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the accused, earlier opposed the request for adjournment.
"When the matter is about delay, there cannot be more delay," Singhvi said.
Khalid and others have moved the top court against the Delhi High Court's September 2 order denying them bail. The top court had issued notice to the police on September 22.
The riots occurred in February 2020 following clashes over the then-proposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). As per the Delhi Police, the riots caused the death of 53 persons and injured hundreds.
The present case pertains to allegations that the accused had hatched a larger conspiracy to cause multiple riots. The FIR in this case was registered by a Special Cell of the Delhi Police under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the UAPA.
Most of the accused were booked in multiple FIRs, leading to multiple bail petitions before different courts. Most have been in custody since 2020.
Khalid was arrested in September 2020 and charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly as well as several other offences under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
He has been in jail since then.
The trial court had first denied him bail in March 2022. He then approached the High Court, which also denied him relief in October 2022, prompting him to file an appeal before the top court.
In May 2023, the Supreme Court sought the response of the Delhi Police in the matter. His plea before the top court was then adjourned 14 times.
On February 14, 2024, he withdrew his bail plea from the Supreme Court citing a change in circumstances.
On May 28, the trial court rejected his second bail petition. Appeal against the same was dismissed by the Delhi High Court on September 2, prompting the present plea before the apex court.
Imam too was booked in multiple FIRs across several States, mostly under sedition and UAPA charges.
In the case registered over speeches he gave at Jamia Milia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University, he was granted bail by the Delhi High Court last year. In the sedition cases registered in Aligarh and Guwahati, he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in 2021 and the Gauhati High Court in 2020, respectively. He was also booked in FIRs in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.