Jamia Nagar violence: Court discharges 11 accused, says booked as 'scapegoats'

A Delhi court on Saturday discharged 11 people, including student activists Sharjeel Imam and Asif Iqbal Tanha in the Jamia Nagar violence case saying that the Delhi Police roped them in as "scapegoats" upon failing to apprehend actual perpetrators.

The court, however, ordered the framing of charges against one of the accused, Mohammad Ilyas.

Additional Sessions Judge Arul Varma, after going through charge sheets, said, "This court cannot but arrive at the conclusion that the police were unable to apprehend the actual perpetrators behind the commission of the offence, but surely managed to rope the persons herein as scapegoats."

An FIR was lodged in connection with the violence during the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) in the Jamia Nagar area in December 2019.

Also read | Delhi court discharges Sharjeel Imam in 2019 Jamia violence case

The judge said there were admittedly scores of protesters at the site and some anti-social elements within the crowd could have created an environment of disruption and havoc. "However, the moot question remains whether the accused persons herein were even prima facie complicit in taking part in that mayhem? The answer is an unequivocal no," he said.

The court said the legal proceedings against the 11 accused were initiated in a "perfunctory and cavalier fashion" and "allowing them to undergo the rigmarole of a long-drawn trial does not augur well for the criminal justice system of the country".

"Furthermore, such police action is detrimental to the liberty of citizens who choose to exercise their fundamental right to peacefully assemble and protest. The liberty of the protesting citizens should not have been lightly interfered with," it said.

The court also said dissent is an extension of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression, subject to reasonable restrictions.

Referring to a 2012 verdict of the Supreme Court, the judge said the court is duty-bound to lean towards an interpretation that protects the rights of the accused, given the ubiquitous power disparity between them and the state machinery.

The court said the investigative agencies needed to discern the difference between dissent and insurrection.

The court also said dissent has to be encouraged and not stifled, with the condition that it should be absolutely peaceful, without degenerating into violence.

The judge said the probe agency should have incorporated the use of technology or gathered credible intelligence against the accused. "This cherry-picking by the police is detrimental to the precept of fairness," he said.

However, the court said photographs of Ilyas showed him hurling a burning tyre and that he was duly identified by police witnesses.

"Needless to say, the investigative agency is not precluded from conducting further investigation in a fair manner...in order to bring to book the actual perpetrators, with the adjuration not to blur lines between dissenters and rioters, and to desist from henceforth arraigning innocent protesters," he added.

The court posted the matter to April 10 for the framing of charges against Ilyas.

In its detailed order, the court said the accused were merely present at the spot and there was no incriminating evidence against them.

Quashing the charge of conspiracy, the court said the prosecution did not submit any proof that there was an agreement or conspiracy between the accused.

"The prosecution did not place any WhatsApp chats, SMS or even proof of the accused persons interacting with each other...even in the photographs, all the 12 accused are not standing side by side and in the video also, they are not seen signalling or talking to each other," the court said.

The Jamia Nagar police station had filed the chargesheet against Imam, Tanha, Safoora Zargar, Mohammad Qasim, Mahmood Anwar, Shahzar Raza Khan, Mohammad Abuzar, Mohammad Shoaib, Umair Ahmad, Bilal Nadeem, Chanda Yadav and Mohammad Ilyas.

Imam was accused of instigating the riots by delivering a provocative speech at the Jamia Milia University on December 13, 2019. He will continue to remain in jail as he is an accused in the larger conspiracy case of the 2020 northeast Delhi riots.