‘No proof of violence’: Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha tell SC in 2020 Delhi ri
‘No proof of violence’: Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha tell SC in 2020 Delhi riots case
M.U.H
01/11/202512
NEW DELHI: Claiming innocence in the 2020 Delhi riots case, student activists and former JNU students Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and Gulfisha Fatima on Friday told the Supreme Court that there was “no evidence linking them to violence” and denied the conspiracy charges levelled against them in the 2020 Delhi riots case.
“There are 751 FIRs. I am charged in one, and if it’s a conspiracy, it’s a bit surprising. There is no proof of violence against me,” Khalid told the bench of the top court headed by Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice N V Anjaria.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Khalid, said that on 26 dates, the matter could not be taken up due to paucity of time in the trial court, while on 59 dates, the matter could not be reached due to the unavailability of the Special Public Prosecutor.
Questioning how his client could be charged in the case when he was not even present in Delhi when the riots took place, Sibal said there was no recovery of weapons or incriminating material linking Khalid to any act of violence. “There is no allegation of Khalid raising any funds for violence or making appeals for violence. The only overt act alleged against Khalid is a speech which he gave in Amaravati in Maharashtra on February 17,” argued Sibal, while seeking bail for his client.
The court on Friday adjourned the matter till Monday, November 3, to hear further arguments from other co-accused, including Meeran Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shifa Ur Rehman, as well as from the Delhi Police.
The police had arrested Khalid, Imam and Fatima in the larger conspiracy case linked to the Delhi riots, charging them under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and with criminal conspiracy under the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Fatima, submitted that she has been in custody for over five years and five months since April 11, 2020. He pointed out that while the chargesheet was filed on September 16, 2020, supplementary chargesheets have continued to be filed every year. “The larger issue is, can filing chargesheets be generated indefinitely?” he asked.
Questioning the slow pace of the proceedings, Singhvi remarked, “Why has the trial not commenced yet? Fatima is the only woman in custody in the case now, as the other women have already got bail. If you get bail after six or seven years, what is the point?”
He further pointed out that the charges were yet to be framed, and more than 800 witnesses were listed. “This is a distortion of the criminal justice system. The concept of liberty is that you don’t keep me in jail without trial,” Singhvi contended.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Imam, argued that till last year the police kept filing supplementary chargesheets until September 2024, meaning the investigation continued for at least four years. He said this clearly showed that there was no delay on the part of the accused, at least until 2024.
He questioned how Imam could be held liable for conspiracy when he had been in custody since January 25, 2020, in connection with other cases, nearly a month before the Delhi riots took place. “Imam is also not an accused in any of the other riot cases. In the other cases for alleged inflammatory speeches, he has been given bail and is in jail only because of this case,” Dave said.
On September 6, the former JNU student Imam had moved the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court rejected his bail plea. He sought bail in the larger conspiracy case under the UAPA in relation to the 2020 North-East Delhi riots case.
Similarly, former JNU student Umar Khalid had approached the Supreme Court on September 10 challenging the Delhi High Court’s order rejecting his bail plea under the UAPA in the case related to the alleged criminal conspiracy in the February 2020 riots in the national capital.
According to the prosecution, the Delhi Police had booked Imam under the stringent UAPA. On January 28, 2020, he was arrested by the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch from Bihar’s Jehanabad in a sedition case for allegedly making inflammatory speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University.
The riots took place in February 2020 following clashes over the then-proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). According to the Delhi Police, the riots resulted in the death of 53 persons and injuries to hundreds.
The prosecution alleged that Imam had hatched a larger criminal conspiracy to cause multiple riots. The FIR in this case was registered by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police under various provisions of the IPC and the UAPA.
Imam was booked in multiple FIRs across several states, mostly under sedition and UAPA charges. Besides Delhi, he faces FIRs in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
Imam was granted bail by the Delhi High Court last year in connection with the alleged speeches he gave at Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University. In sedition cases registered in Aligarh and Guwahati, he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in 2021 and by the Gauhati High Court in 2020, respectively. He was also booked in FIRs in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
He further pointed out that the charges were yet to be framed, and more than 800 witnesses were listed. “This is a distortion of the criminal justice system. The concept of liberty is that you don’t keep me in jail without trial,” Singhvi contended.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Imam, argued that till last year the police kept filing supplementary chargesheets until September 2024, meaning the investigation continued for at least four years. He said this clearly showed that there was no delay on the part of the accused, at least until 2024.
He questioned how Imam could be held liable for conspiracy when he had been in custody since January 25, 2020, in connection with other cases, nearly a month before the Delhi riots took place. “Imam is also not an accused in any of the other riot cases. In the other cases for alleged inflammatory speeches, he has been given bail and is in jail only because of this case,” Dave said.
On September 6, the former JNU student Imam had moved the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court rejected his bail plea. He sought bail in the larger conspiracy case under the UAPA in relation to the 2020 North-East Delhi riots case.
Similarly, former JNU student Umar Khalid had approached the Supreme Court on September 10 challenging the Delhi High Court’s order rejecting his bail plea under the UAPA in the case related to the alleged criminal conspiracy in the February 2020 riots in the national capital.
According to the prosecution, the Delhi Police had booked Imam under the stringent UAPA. On January 28, 2020, he was arrested by the Delhi Police’s Crime Branch from Bihar’s Jehanabad in a sedition case for allegedly making inflammatory speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University.
The riots took place in February 2020 following clashes over the then-proposed Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). According to the Delhi Police, the riots resulted in the death of 53 persons and injuries to hundreds.
The prosecution alleged that Imam had hatched a larger criminal conspiracy to cause multiple riots. The FIR in this case was registered by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police under various provisions of the IPC and the UAPA.
Imam was booked in multiple FIRs across several states, mostly under sedition and UAPA charges. Besides Delhi, he faces FIRs in Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
Imam was granted bail by the Delhi High Court last year in connection with the alleged speeches he gave at Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University. In sedition cases registered in Aligarh and Guwahati, he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in 2021 and by the Gauhati High Court in 2020, respectively. He was also booked in FIRs in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
