Sharjeel Imam's speeches can be attributed to other accused in Delhi riots case: Delhi Police tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Delhi Police on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that activist Sharjeel Imam's speeches can be attributed to other accused and can be used as evidence against them in the February 2020 Delhi riots.

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Delhi Police, submitted before a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria that all participants are liable for each other's acts in a conspiracy.

"Acts of one conspirator can be attributed to others. Sharjeel Imam's speeches can be attributed to Umar Khalid. Sharjeel Imam's case will be considered as evidence against the others," Raju told the bench.

The ASG argued that Khalid deliberately planned to leave Delhi before the riots took place as he wanted to deflect responsibility.

Raju said the planning was done by Khalid and it has been misstated that he was not the administrator of a WhatsApp group related to the riots.

The top court reserved its judgment after hearing all the lawyers and directed them to submit written arguments, charts and others by December 18.

Seeking bail in the case, Imam had expressed anguish before the apex court over being "labelled" a "dangerous intellectual terrorist", without a full-fledged trial or a single conviction.

"I would like to say that I am not a terrorist, as I have been called by the respondent (police). I am not an anti-national as called by the State. I am a citizen of this country, a citizen by birth and I have not been convicted for any offence till now," senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, representing Imam, said.

He had contended that Imam was arrested on January 28, 2020, which was before the communal violence that rocked Northeast Delhi, for his speeches that alone cannot constitute the offence of "criminal conspiracy" in the riots case.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Khalid, had submitted that his client was not in Delhi when the riots broke out in February 2020 and that he cannot be kept incarcerated "as if to say that I will punish you for your protests".

Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gulfisha Fatima, had told the court that the activist has spent under six years in incarceration and termed the delay in the trial "astonishing and unprecedented".

Strongly opposing the bail pleas of Khalid, Imam and others, the Delhi Police said the February 2020 riots were not something spontaneous, but an "orchestrated, pre-planned and well-designed" attack on India's sovereignty.

Khalid, Imam, Fatima, Meeran Haider and Shifa Ur Rehman have been booked under the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the riots, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.

According to Section 16 of the UAPA, "Whoever commits a terrorist act shall, if such act has resulted in the death of any person, be punishable with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine." The violence erupted during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The accused have moved the apex court challenging the Delhi High Court's September 2 order denying them bail in the "larger conspiracy" case of the February 2020 riots.