Delhi Police oppose bail pleas in 2020 riots case, call violence 'pre-planned attack on sovereignty'

The Delhi Police on Tuesday strongly opposed the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others accused in the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots, telling the Supreme Court that the violence was not a spontaneous outburst but a “well-designed, well-crafted and pre-planned” attack on the nation’s sovereignty.

Appearing for the police, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria that the riots were fuelled by repeated attempts to divide communities under the guise of protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

“First of all, that myth has to be busted. This was not a spontaneous riot… Speech after speech, statement after statement, there was an attempt to divide society on communal lines,” Mehta submitted, adding that Sharjeel Imam had called for ‘chakka jaam’ across cities with substantial Muslim populations.


Mehta also said a misleading narrative was being pushed on social media suggesting that “something very serious is going on with young people”, arguing instead that the accused were responsible for delays in the trial.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, also representing the Delhi Police, is currently presenting arguments as the hearing continues.

Khalid, Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider and Tasleem Ahmed Rehman were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sections of the erstwhile IPC for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The violence had broken out amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens.