Supreme Court to hear Umar Khalid, others' bail pleas on November 11.

The top court resumed hearing the bail pleas filed by activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and three others in the larger conspiracy case in relation to the 2020 North East Delhi riots on Thursday.

Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria is hearing the matter.

The counsel for former JNU student Umar Khalid on November 3 concluded arguments opposing the framing of charges in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.

Senior advocate Trideep Pais told Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai that he had finished his submissions, after which the court listed the matter for November 6. Arguments for co-accused Salim Malik will be heard on November 10.

Earlier, Pais had argued that “no criminality could be attributed” to Khalid and called the FIR a “joke” lacking “sanctity of law.” Khalid has been in custody since September 13, 2020.

Separately, in the Supreme Court, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Khalid in his bail plea under the UAPA, said there was no evidence linking him to the riots. “There are 751 FIRs, I am charged in one, and if it’s a conspiracy, it’s a bit surprising! If I conspired riots, on dates in which riots took place, I was not in Delhi,” he said.

Sibal added, “No funds, weapons and physical evidence connecting me to violence have been found yet. No witness statement actually connects petitioner to any act of violence.” He also cited parity with activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who were granted bail in 2021.

Referring to Khalid’s February 2020 speech in Amravati, Sibal said, “It was a public speech where I spoke about Gandhian principles.”

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, representing Gulfisha Fatima, said she had been in jail for over five years despite “an annual ritual” of supplementary chargesheets. “The allegation is merely that she created a WhatsApp group,” he said, adding that the real test was intent to incite violence.

Siddharth Dave, for Sharjeel Imam, said, “Out of the five years I have spent in custody, three went by because the probe was still ongoing. The speeches were delivered nearly two months before the riots.”

Delhi Police have opposed the bail pleas, alleging the accused conspired to “strike at the sovereignty and integrity of the country” through a “regime change operation” under the guise of peaceful protest.

The February 2020 riots during protests against the CAA and NRC left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.