No evidence linking us to Delhi riots: Activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam tell Indian SC
New Delhi: Activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and four others, seeking bail in connection with the February 2020 Delhi anti-Muslim riots, told the Indian Supreme Court that there is no evidence linking them to the violence or any conspiracy behind the riots.
According to Kashmir Media Service, as the Supreme Court began hearing their bail pleas on Friday, senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Siddharth Dave, representing Khalid, Imam, and Gulfisha Fatima, argued for their release due to the prolonged delay in the commencement of their trial.
Kapil Sibal, speaking for Umar Khalid before Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria, emphasized the lack of evidence against him, stating, “Out of 751 FIRs, I am charged in only one. If this is a conspiracy, it’s surprising.” He pointed out that Khalid was not even present in Delhi during the riots and that no weapons, funds, or material evidence linked him to the violence. Sibal also noted that Khalid’s February 17, 2020, speech in Amravati, which was labeled “inflammatory” by the Delhi High Court, was in fact a public address on Gandhian principles, freely available on YouTube.
For Gulfisha Fatima, who has been detained since April 2020, senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi highlighted the prolonged detention, noting that despite the main chargesheet being filed in September 2020, annual supplementary filings have delayed justice. Fatima’s bail plea has been listed for hearing over 90 times. Singhvi argued that the sole allegation against her—creating a WhatsApp group for coordination—did not meet the Supreme Court’s standards for proving intent to incite violence.
Siddharth Dave, representing Sharjeel Imam, pointed out that Imam had been under investigation for over three years, yet no evidence had been found linking his speeches to the riots. He noted that Imam’s speeches, delivered two months before the riots, showed no direct connection to the violence.
The Delhi Police, however, opposed the bail pleas, alleging that the activists had masterminded a “regime change operation” under the guise of protests, threatening national sovereignty. Khalid, Imam, Fatima, and Meeran Haider face charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the “masterminds” behind the larger conspiracy that led to the February 2020 Delhi riots. The violence, which claimed 53 lives—mostly Muslims—and left more than 700 injured, erupted during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), coinciding with the visit of then-US President Donald Trump.
