The Supreme Court on Monday slammed the Delhi Police for the delay in filing a counter petition against the bail pleas of anti-CAA protesters accused in the Delhi pogrom larger conspiracy case, including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and others, reminding the authorities that they had already been given sufficient opportunities to do so and deferred the hearing to October 31.
The bench comprising Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice N.V. Anjaria expressed dissatisfaction with the repeated requests for extensions by the Delhi Police, observing that the matter concerned bail and should not be subjected to unnecessary procedural postponements.
The court noted that the accused had been in custody for more than five years, and any further delay in hearing their petitions would amount to prolonging their incarceration without trial.
The hearing centred on FIR 59 of 2020 filed by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell, which alleges a larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi violence. The petitioners, including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa-Ur-Rehman, have challenged the Delhi High Court’s September 2 order that denied them bail.
The bench questioned the prosecution on the need for a counter-affidavit in a bail matter and urged them to consider whether concessionary bail could be granted in view of the extended detention of the accused and the absence of significant trial progress.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, A.M. Singhvi, Siddharth Dave, and Siddharth Agarwal appeared for the petitioners and pointed out that the case has been delayed repeatedly due to procedural and administrative reasons.
Earlier, the matter was listed before a bench comprising Justice Kumar and Justice Manmohan, but the latter recused himself due to a prior professional association, resulting in further deferment. Subsequent hearings were also postponed after the files reached the court late, adding to the prolonged wait for adjudication.
The accused, mostly students and human rights activists linked to the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests of 2019–2020, face charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code.
While some co-accused, including Asif Iqbal Tanha, Safoora Zargar, Devangana Kalita, and Natasha Narwal, have been granted bail earlier, others remain in custody. As the Supreme Court set the next hearing for October 31.