New Delhi, May 22: The Supreme Court has granted interim bail for six months to Tasleem Ahmad and Abdul Khalid Saifi, who are accused in the Delhi riots case. The court has referred significant legal questions regarding bail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) to a larger bench for consideration.
This larger bench will determine the criteria for granting bail under the UAPA. It will address whether bail can be granted based on delays in trial, despite the stringent conditions imposed by the UAPA. A bench comprising Justice Arvind Kumar and Justice N.V. Anjaria had previously denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam earlier this year.
Recently, a bench led by Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjwal Bhuiyan raised concerns regarding this decision. They noted that the denial of bail to Umar and Sharjeel did not adhere to the guidelines established by a three-judge bench in 2021.
Tasleem Ahmad was arrested by the Crime Branch on June 24, 2020, and has been in judicial custody since then. His arrest is linked to the violence that occurred between February 23 and 25, 2020, during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Northeast Delhi.
He faces charges under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Arms Act, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and sections 13, 16, 17, and 18 of the UAPA.
According to the prosecution, Ahmad was part of a larger conspiracy to incite riots in areas including Jaffrabad, Maujpur, Chand Bagh, and Gokulpuri. Ahmad claims that he was merely protesting against the CAA and was wrongfully arrested on terrorism charges.
Other accused in this alleged conspiracy include Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Salim Khan, Shadab Ahmad, Athar Khan, and Abdul Khalid Saifi.
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