Delhi riots: After Sharjeel Imam, activist Gulfisha Fatima moves SC against HC order denying her bail

New Delhi, Sep 7 (PTI) Activist Gulfisha Fatima has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order denying her bail in the "larger conspiracy" case related to the February 2020 riots in the national capital.

On September 2, Fatima was denied bail along with eight others including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the "larger conspiracy" case. The high court had said "conspiratorial" violence under the garb of demonstrations or protests by citizens cannot be allowed.

On Saturday, Sharjeel Imam also approached the apex court against denial of bail by the high court in the case.

A high court bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur dismissed the bail pleas of Fatima, Imam, Khalid, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, and Abdul Khalid Saifi, holding that the Constitution affords citizens the right to protest and carry out demonstrations or agitations, provided they are orderly, peaceful and without arms and such actions must be within the bounds of law.

Fatima was in the forefront of organising protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and was arrested in April 2020 and was booked under several offences including anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

In its chargesheet, the Delhi Police had accused her, along with several other individuals, of orchestrating a "larger conspiracy" behind the communal riots which rocked the national capital in the last week of February 2020.

In its September 2 order, the high court said the right to participate in peaceful protests and to make speeches in public meetings was protected under Article 19(1)(a), and couldn't be blatantly curtailed.

However, the right was stated to be "not absolute" and "subject to reasonable restrictions", it added.

"If the exercise of an unfettered right to protest were permitted, it would damage the constitutional framework and impinge upon the law-and-order situation in the country," it had said.

The high court further said any conspiratorial violence under the garb of protests or demonstrations by the citizens cannot be permitted.

"Such actions must be regulated and checked by the state machinery, as they do not fall within the ambit of freedom of speech, expression and association," it had said.

Dealing with the grounds of delay in trial besides the time already spent behind bars to grant bail to the accused, the high court said such a ground was not "universally applicable" in all cases.

"The discretion to grant or deny bail vests with the constitutional court, depending upon the peculiar facts and circumstances of each of the cases," it added.

The court had also rejected the plea for parity with co-accused persons, namely, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Devangana Kalita, and Natasha Narwal who were granted bail by a coordinate bench of the high court.

Fatima, Khalid, Imam and the rest of the accused persons were booked under UAPA and provisions of IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.

All the accused have been in jail since 2020. PTI MNL MNL KVK KVK