'Delhi riots a well-designed attack on sovereignty', Police opposes bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta insisted that the riots were not Delhi-centric according to their plan, and riots could not spread due to the security agencies.

Ne Delhi: The Delhi Police on Tuesday vehemently opposed in the Supreme Court the bail pleas filed by activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others in the 2020 Delhi riots, saying that instead of being a spontaneous act of violence, it was choreographed, well-designed and well-crafted, attack on the sovereignty of the nation.

Police led by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta maintained that it was a systematic and synchronised attempt to divide the society on communal lines and divide the nation, and it is not a case of communal riot per se.

He submitted before a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria, "First of all, that myth has to be busted. This was not a spontaneous riot. It was a well-designed, well-crafted, well-orchestrated, well-orchestrated, pre-planned, choreographed riot. That will emerge from the evidence collected”.

“Some groups clashed, there is violence, some animal is killed, there is violence. One community attacks another, and then there is violence. This was not a spontaneous act of violence. It was an attack on the sovereignty of the nation. I say this with a sense of responsibility,” Mehta claimed.

In statement after statement, there is a clear and discernible attempt to divide the society on communal lines, and it was not merely an agitation against one particular act of the government, he claimed.

Giving an example, he said, Sharjeel Imam, a supposedly intellectual and for whom much narrative is built outside the court and no arguments were advanced inside the court.

He (Imam) said that it is his heartfelt wish that there is chakka jam not just in Delhi but for every city where Muslims reside, Imam asks if Muslims are incapacitated that they cannot close down Uttar Pradesh, despite Muslims being 30 per cent of the population, why are cities able to run. He was not talking of only Delhi, Mehta claimed.

Mehta insisted that the riots were not Delhi-centric according to their plan, and riots could not spread due to the security agencies.

“He (Imam) goes on to say that Muslims of the countries must unite and separate northeast from the country…it was not a spontaneous riot. It needs to be taken very seriously…then he says that the real goal is to ensure that Delhi does not get milk. This is not a protest as sought to be made out," Mehta said.

The SG contended that one of the accused also challenged the authority of the court, and that the accused are responsible for the delay in the trial of the case, and added, “We can complete the trial within 6 months, the moment they cooperate,” he said.

He also contended ghere was a systematic WhatsApp group, which showed how the property has to be damaged, how the money is to be collected.

The hearing in the matter would resume on Thursday.

The petitioners challenged the Delhi High Court's September 2, 2025, order which rejected their bail plea in the case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) regarding the alleged larger conspiracy in connection with the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.