The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned by four weeks the hearing on Athar Khan’s bail plea in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 Northeast Delhi riots. The adjournment came after the Delhi Police informed the Court that it had filed its response to Khan’s appeal.
A Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi granted Khan liberty to file a rejoinder to the police’s reply and deferred further consideration of the matter.
Khan has challenged the Delhi High Court’s July 7 decision rejecting his bail plea in the case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Supreme Court had earlier issued notice to the Delhi Police on his appeal.
The Delhi High Court had upheld the trial court’s January 29 order denying him bail, observing that the material on record prima facie suggested that Khan was allegedly involved in the larger conspiracy behind the communal violence and was not merely a local-level facilitator.
During the proceedings before the High Court, Khan’s counsel had argued that he had remained in custody for nearly six years and that his alleged role was limited to facilitating activities at the local level. The defence also relied on bail granted to other accused in the case, arguing that Khan was similarly placed.
The High Court, however, distinguished his case from those of the co-accused who had secured relief from the Supreme Court, holding that the allegations and material attributed to Khan warranted separate consideration.
Khan, a former call-centre employee, is accused of organising a protest at Chand Bagh in Northeast Delhi and delivering speeches allegedly intended to incite violence. The Delhi Police Special Cell has further alleged that he participated in meetings linked to the conspiracy and was involved in efforts to coordinate the destruction of CCTV cameras. These allegations form part of the prosecution’s case and have yet to be established at trial.
The violence that erupted in Northeast Delhi in February 2020, amid protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens, resulted in 53 deaths and left more than 700 people injured.
While rejecting Khan’s bail plea, the High Court relied on the restrictions imposed by Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, which limits the grant of bail where the court finds reasonable grounds to believe that accusations under the Act are prima facie true. The court referred to material placed by the prosecution, including the statement of a protected witness, while assessing the allegations against him.
The Supreme Court will take up Khan’s appeal after four weeks, following the filing of his rejoinder. The adjournment does not amount to a decision on the merits of his bail plea.
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