2020 riots: Delay in trial ground to grant bail, Khalid Saifi tells Delhi HC

New Delhi: Delhi riots' accused and "United Against Hate" founder Khalid Saifi on Tuesday argued in the Delhi High Court that a constitutional court could grant him bail on account of delay in trial irrespective of the UAPA charges.

Arguing before a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur, senior advocate Rebecca John, representing Saifi, sought parity with the co-accused who are out on bail in the case, and said a speedy trial was a constitutionally protected right which ought to be considered.

"Delay is a fact that can be considered by a constitutional court notwithstanding the provisions prohibiting bail.. When you have such an onerous provision, it is the duty of court to see whether protest against what was seen as an unfair law tantamounts to terrorist act," she said.

John went on, "I have every right to claim parity with persons released on bail as early as June 15, 2021. We are almost four years later. I have been in custody since March 21, 2020."

Saifi, the senior lawyer said, was the organiser of a protest site in Khureji Khas, which was peaceful, and there was no recovery of any weapon or money or incriminatory protest material from him.

The three speeches attributed to him were innocuous and not inciteful, John added.

She questioned the slapping of UAPA charges over Saifi's "innocuous messages", eventually becoming a ground to deny him bail.

Delhi Police previously argued that the right to speedy trial was not a free pass and in the present case, the right of society must prevail over the right of the individual.

It claimed the accused persons gave inflammatory speeches while speaking of "chakka jam" and protests were not organic.

Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Saifi and several others were booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence erupted during the protests against the CAA and NRC.

Most bail pleas in the case, including the ones by Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Khalid Saifi, were filed in 2022, and heard by different benches from time to time.

The case would be heard next on March 25.