Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Delhi Police has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the grant of bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima and Shifa Ur Rehman in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. The police said that the petitioners were trying to play "victim card" on the ground of long incarceration when they themselves are responsible for delaying the trial.

In the affidavit, the police contended that no grounds for bail can be made out on the basis of delay, asserting that the petitioners themselves were responsible for postponing the commencement of the trial for “mala fide and mischievous” reasons.

"No ground for bail has been made by the petitioners. It is submitted that it does not lie with the petitioners who for malafide and mischievous reasons have delayed the commencement of trial to come and play victim card and seek bail on the ground of prolonged incarceration".

Petitioners' attempt was to instigate an armed rebellion pan-India

Further, it has been claimed by the Delhi Police that the conduct of the accused, apart from the irrefutable and ocular evidence available against them, "disentitles" them from seeking any relief of bail from the Court.

It is stated in the affidavit: "The conspiracy hatched, nurtured and executed by the petitioner was to strike at the very heart of the sovereignty and integrity of the country by destroying the communal harmony; instigating the crowd not only to abrogate public order but to instigate them to an extent of armed rebellion."

Delhi police has said that evidence collected by them suggests that the petitioners wanted to execute such conspiracy pan-India.

"Evidence on record suggest that the instant conspiracy was sought to be replicated and executed PAN India."

"No liberty of bail can be granted to the petitioners for committing a heinous offence of highest order attacking the very roots of integrity and sovereignty of the country," Delhi police says.

The Delhi police also relied on the observations made by the Delhi High Court in the case of another accused that the accused persons themselves were responsible for the delay in the trial.

Specific allegations

According to the Delhi Police, Umar Khalid was the chief conspirator behind the Delhi riots and had mentored Sharjeel Imam in planning the first phase of the violence. They claimed that Imam's WhatsApp chats from December 2019 showed his active role in orchestrating the initial phase of the riots. The police further alleged that Khalid conceptualised the idea of “chakka jam” as a means to provoke riots, distinct from peaceful protests, and that he implemented this through Sharjeel Imam and Asif Iqbal Tanha, leading to the creation of protest sites at Shaheen Bagh and Jamia. It was claimed that during the December 13, 2019 protests at Jamia, violence erupted resulting in injuries to civilians and police personnel.

The affidavit also alleged that in January 2020, Khalid held a secret meeting in Seelampur with Gulfisha Fatima, Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and others, where he purportedly instructed them to mobilize local women to stockpile weapons and materials to incite violence. When this plan allegedly failed, Khalid is said to have arranged for women from Jahangirpuri to participate in the Jaffrabad protests to escalate unrest.

The police accused Gulfisha Fatima of acting as a key local coordinator who helped execute the plan to turn peaceful sit-ins into violent demonstrations. Meeran Haider, as a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee, was alleged to have overseen multiple 24x7 protest sites, collected funds, and encouraged protesters to attack police and non-Muslims.

Similarly, Shifa-Ur-Rehman was accused of organizing and financing protests under the guise of anti-CAA and anti-NRC demonstrations. As President of the Jamia Alumni Association, he allegedly received and distributed funds to sustain the protest sites, which, according to the police, culminated in the riots that broke out in North-East Delhi between February 23 and 26, 2020.

A bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice NV Anjaria will hear tomorrow the petitions filed by Khalid and others against the September 2 judgment of the Delhi High Court which denied them bail. On the last hearing day (October 27), Justice Kumar, pointing out that the accused had spent over five years behind the bars, implicitly asked Additional Solicitor General SV Raju if bail could be conceded on the ground of delay.