The activists have challenged a September 2 Delhi HC order which denied bail to nine people; while the HC said the right to participate in peaceful protests and to make speeches in public meetings was said to have been protected under Article 19(1)(a)
An agitator holds a placard during a protest in New Delhi. PIC/PTI
The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned to September 22 the hearing on bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Meeran Haider in the UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in Delhi. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Manmohan deferred the pleas. The activists have challenged a September 2 Delhi High Court order which denied bail to nine people, including Khalid and Imam, saying “conspiratorial” violence under the garb of demonstrations or protests by citizens could not be allowed.
Besides Khalid and Imam, those who faced bail rejection are Fatima, Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Shadab Ahmed. While the HC said the right to participate in peaceful protests and to make speeches in public meetings was said to have been protected under Article 19(1)(a), and couldn’t be blatantly curtailed, it observed the right was “not absolute” and “subject to reasonable restrictions”.
“If the exercise of an unfettered right to protest were permitted, it would damage the constitutional framework and impinge upon the law and order situation in the country,” the bail rejection order said. Khalid, Imam and the rest of the accused persons were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The accused, who have denied all the allegations against them, have been in jail since 2020 and had moved the high court after a trial court rejected their bail pleas.
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