A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed the bail petition of Jamia Milia Islamia student Meeran Haider in a case related to communal violence in the city in February 2020, Bar and Bench reported.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat passed the order. The detailed verdict is expected to be made public soon.
The prosecution had argued that the riots were meticulously planned, leading to destruction of property and disruption of essential services, according to Live Law. The prosecution contended that the conspiracy to incite the riots, therefore, met the criteria of “terrorist act” as defined under Section 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Haider, a Rashtriya Janata Dal youth wing leader, has been named in a chargesheet under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a case pertaining to an alleged conspiracy to incite the riots.
The other accused persons in the case are activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Khalid Saifi, former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan, former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain, Pinjra Tod activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, student activists Gulfisha Fatima and Safoora Zargar and educational consultant Tasleem Ahmad.
On March 16, a Delhi court had also rejected the bail applications of Gulfisha Fatima and Tasleem Ahmad. On March 24, Judge Rawat denied bail to Umar Khalid in the case, observing that the allegations against him in the chargesheet appeared to be prima facie true.
Communal violence had broken out between the supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing the law in North East Delhi between February 23 and February 26, 2020. The violence claimed 53 lives and hundreds were injured. The majority of those killed were Muslims.
The Delhi Police claim that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and was planned by those who organised the protests against the amended Citizenship Amendment Act. They also claimed the protestors had secessionist motives and were using “the facade of civil disobedience” to destabilise the government.
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