‘If acting against nation, be in jail till acquittal or conviction’, police in HC

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Wednesday argued in the Delhi High Court that the intention behind February 2020 riots in the capital was to globally defame the nation by way of a well-planned and orchestrated criminal conspiracy by the accused persons including Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid. Delhi Police was opposing the bail pleas of the accused persons when it argued before a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur that it was not a spontaneous riot but a well-organised act planned in advance in the capital of the country, aimed at a particular day and time.

The bench reserved its verdict after hearing arguments of solicitor general Tushar Mehta for the police and counsel of the accused persons.

“If you are doing something against your nation then you better be in jail till you are acquitted or convicted. There was a riot in the capital of the country where 100 police personnel and 41 other public persons were injured and one police personnel lost his life,” Mehta stressed.

The pronouncement would be in connection with the pleas of Imam, Khalid, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima. The hearing on the bail plea of accused Shadab Ahmed would continue on Thursday. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta opposed bail, arguing long incarceration alone isn’t grounds for release in a serious, pre-planned conspiracy case. He called the Delhi riots probe among the finest, citing 58 statements under CrPC Section 164. Mehta accused Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid of aiming to defame India globally by orchestrating communal riots ahead of the US President’s 2020 visit.