Shifa-ur-Rehman tells SC: Being cherry-picked, no offence made out under UAPA

New Delhi: Activist Shifa-ur-Rehman, seeking bail in a UAPA case linked to the February 2020 Delhi riots, told the Supreme Court on Monday that he was “cherry-picked” and that no offence under the anti-terror law was made out against him.

Senior advocate Salman Khurshid, appearing for Rehman, argued before a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria that as president of the Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association, there was no evidence linking him to violence. He added that peaceful protest against a law cannot amount to criminal conduct. “He has been cherry-picked and made an accused. Nothing under the UAPA is made out even if all allegations are accepted,” Khurshid submitted.

Rehman, along with Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, and Meeran Haider, was booked under the UAPA and the erstwhile IPC for allegedly being “masterminds” of the riots that left 53 dead and over 700 injured during protests against the CAA and NRC. Khurshid cited parity with co-accused Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who were granted bail in 2021. He noted that Rehman was earlier given interim bail twice and has no other criminal case.

The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue on November 6.