TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (1) TMI 1636
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... Singh, Adv. Ms. Mariya Mansuri, Adv. Ms. Ankita Kashyap, Adv. Mr. Shashank Singh, AOR Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv. Mr. C. U. Singh, Sr. Adv. Mr. Trideep Pais, Sr. Adv. Ms. Sanya Kumar, Adv. Mr. Sahil Ghai, Adv. Mr. N. Sai Vinod, AOR Ms. Aparajita Jamwal, Adv. Mr. Nikhil Pahwa, Adv. Ms. Saloni Ambastha, Adv. Ms. Sakshi Jain, Adv. Mr. Abhik Chimni, Adv. Ms. Bidya Mohanty, Adv. Ms. Katyayani Suhrud, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Kalaiyarsan, Adv. Mr. Aekansh Agarwal, Adv. Ms. Kanu Garg, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Aggarwal, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shri Singh, Adv. Mr. Faraz Maqbool, Adv. Mr. Kumar Vaibhaw, Adv. Ms. Sana Juneja, Adv. Ms. A. Sahitya Veena, Adv. Ms. Deepshikha, Adv. Ms. Arunima Nair, Adv. Mr. Vismita Diwan, Adv. Ms. Arshiya Ghosh, Adv. Mr. Sidhant Saraswat, Adv. Ms. Somaya Gupta, Adv. Ms. Devina Sehgal, AOR Ms. Chinmayi Chatterjee, Adv. Ms. Swati Khanna, Adv. Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sarim Naved, Adv. Mr. Harsh Bora, Adv. Ms. Maulshree Pathak, AOR Mr. Shahid Nadeem, Adv. Mr. Amit Bhandari, Adv. Mr. Muhammad Ali Khan, Adv. Mr. Omar Hoda, Adv. Ms. Eesha Bakshi, Adv. Ms. Namrah Nasir, Adv. Mr. Uday Bhatia, Adv. Mr. Siddharth Srivastava, Adv. Mr. Surya Kiran, Adv. Mr. Siddhartha Dave, Sr. Adv.....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... 7.3. FINDINGS OF THE TRIAL COURT: ...........59 7.4. FINDINGS OF THE HIGH COURT: ............. 60 7.5. DISCUSSION ON ROLE AND FINDINGS: .................. 61 8. SHIFA UR REHMAN -APPELLANT IN SLP (CRL.) 14859 OF 2025 ............. 76 8.1. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE APPELLANT: ......... 76 8.2. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT: ............... 78 8.3. FINDINGS OF THE TRIAL COURT: ........... 80 8.4. FINDINGS OF THE HIGH COURT ........... 82 8.5. DISCUSSION ON ROLE AND FINDINGS: .........82 9. SALEEM KHAN - APPELLANT IN SLP (CRL.) NO. 15335/2025 .......... 87 9.1. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE APPELLANT: ........... 87 9.2. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT: ........... 89 9.3. FINDINGS OF THE TRIAL COURT: ............. 92 9.4. FINDINGS OF THE HIGH COURT: ............ 94 9.5. DISCUSSION ON ROLE AND FINDINGS: ........... 95 10. MEERAN HAIDER - APPELLANT IN SLP (CRL.) 14132 OF 2025 .......... 100 10.1. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF APPELLANT: ............ 100 10.2. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT: .......... 103 10.3. FINDING....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....nd Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984. 4. The appellants before this Court are Sharjeel Imam [SLP (Crl.) No. 14030 of 2025], Umar Khalid [SLP (Crl.) No. 14165 of 2025], Shifa Ur Rehman [SLP (Crl.) No. 14859 of 2025], Mohd. Saleem Khan [SLP (Crl.) No. 15335 of 2025], Meeran Haider [SLP (Crl.) No. 14132 of 2025], Shadab Ahmed [SLP (Crl.) No. 17055 of 2025], and Gulfisha Fatima [SLP (Crl.) No. 13988 of 2025]. 5. The prosecution case, as placed before the Court, proceeds on the footing that the incidents of violence were not isolated or spontaneous, but were the outcome of a larger conspiracy in which several accused persons are alleged to have participated at different stages and in different capacities. While the FIR and the impugned judgment are common, the role attributed to each appellant, the nature of the allegations, and the material relied upon by the prosecution are not uniform. 6. Before this Court, certain submissions have been advanced which are common to all the appeals, particularly on the question of prolonged incarceration and the plea founded on Article 21 of the Constitution. At the same time, each appeal also raises is....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....r and an Intelligence Bureau official, as well as grievous injuries to several police personnel and civilians. In addition, extensive damage was caused to over 1,500 public and private properties, alongside substantial intangible harm to public order, social harmony, and the nation at large. 14. Before proceeding to the further analysis of the matter, it would be apposite to advert to the contents of First Information Report No. 59 of 2020 (hereinafter referred to as "the FIR"), as well as the contents of the charge-sheet and the supplementary charge-sheets filed by the Investigating Officer before the competent Court, which are discussed in the succeeding section. 1.2. CASE OF PROSECTION AS PROPOUNDED UNDER FIR NO. 59 OF 2020 15. First Information Report No. 59 of 2020 constitutes the genesis of the present case and sets out the allegations of conspiracy attributed to the appellants herein, which are stated to have culminated in the riots that occurred on 23rd, 24th, and 25th February 2020. Before proceeding further with the analysis, it is necessary to reproduce the contents of the said FIR. 16. FIR 59 of 2020 was registered by the PS, Crime Branch New Delhi on 06.03.....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....apprehended in relation to the present FIR are set out hereunder: SL. No. SLP. (Crl.) No. Name Of Appellant Date of Arrest 1. 13988/2025 Gulfisha Fatima 11.04.2020 2. 14030/2025 Sharjeel Imam 28.01.2020 3. 14132/2025 Meeran Haider 01.04.2020 4. 14165/2025 Umar Khalid 01.10.2020 5. 14859/2025 Shifa Ur Rehman 26.04.2020 6. 15335/2025 Mohd Saleem Khan 25.06.2020 7. 17055/2025 Shadab Ahmed 20.05.2020 1.3. CHARGESHEET: 21. Upon registration of the FIR, the Crime Branch undertook investigation and filed the main charge-sheet on 16.09.2020 against fifteen accused persons, which included some of the appellants herein, namely Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed. The main charge-sheet alleged that the said accused persons were part of a larger conspiracy which culminated in the riots that took place on 23rd, 24th, and 25th February 2020 in Delhi. It was alleged therein that the accused had committed offences punishable under Sections 120B read with Sections 109, 114, 124A, 147, 148, 149, 153A, 186, 201, 212, 295, 302, 307, 341, 353, 395, 420, ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....secution case, and that the consideration ought to remain confined to the issue of delay alone. 25. It was submitted that the appellants had been in custody for a substantial length of time; that the progress of trial had been slow; and that the complexity of the prosecution rendered the likelihood of its early conclusion uncertain. Reliance was placed on decisions of this Court recognising that personal liberty cannot be sacrificed at the altar of procedural stagnation, and that prolonged pre-trial incarceration may, in appropriate cases, justify constitutional intervention notwithstanding statutory restrictions on bail. These submissions, though pressed individually, were broadly common in substance. 26. As the hearing progressed, however, it became evident that the plea of delay could not be examined in abstraction. In the course of submissions and rejoinder, reference was necessarily made to the nature of the allegations, the statutory framework invoked, and the role attributed to individual appellants. This was not a departure from the original submission, but a reflection of the legal reality that the constitutional question of delay does not arise in a vacuum. To allay....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....nised as an important facet of this guarantee. It follows that pre-trial incarceration cannot, by the mere passage of time, be permitted to assume the character of punishment. 31. At the same time, Article 21 has never been understood as operating in isolation from law. The constitutional promise is not that liberty will be unregulated, but that deprivations of liberty will not be arbitrary, unconscionable, or unfair. The expression "procedure established by law" reflects that balance. The UAPA, as a special statute enacted to address offences alleged to affect the security of the State and the stability of civic life, represents a legislative judgment as to the conditions under which bail may be granted at the pre-trial stage. Section 43D(5) of UAPA embodies the exercise of that judgment. 32. In Union of India v. K.A. Najeeb [(2021) 3 SCC 713], this Court recognised a constitutional safeguard that cannot be ignored: statutory restrictions cannot be applied so as to render the guarantee of personal liberty illusory. It was held that where the trial is not likely to commence or conclude within a reasonable period, constitutional courts retain the jurisdiction to grant bail not....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ses out of FIR No. 59 of 2020 and involves multiple accused persons, voluminous documentary and electronic evidence, and allegations of a structured and continuing conspiracy. The record reflects that compliance under Section 207 of the Code of Criminal Procedure was completed only on 05.08.2023, after which the Trial Court directed that arguments on charge would commence on a day-to-day basis from 11.09.2023 onwards. The nature of the prosecution, the number of accused, and the breadth of material necessarily render the proceedings complex and time-consuming. The mere passage of time, therefore, cannot be viewed in isolation. 38. What assumes significance is that the procedural history and order sheets do not support the assertion that the delay is attributable to prosecutorial inaction or judicial inaction. The common counter affidavit and the Trial Court's orders record that, at various stages, the prosecution expressed readiness to proceed, including readiness to commence arguments on charge, while objections, requests for deferment, and issues relating to sequencing of arguments were raised on behalf of the accused. At the stage of compliance under Section 207 CrPC itse....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... number of accused, and the nature of issues raised. The constitutional concern arising from prolonged custody is therefore acknowledged, but it does not, on the present record, translate into a finding that continued detention has become punitive or unconscionable solely by reason of delay. 42. The approach of addressing delay-related concerns through calibrated judicial supervision, rather than automatic enlargement on bail, stands reinforced by the decision of this Court in Union of India v. Saleem Khan.[2025 SCC OnLine SC 1754] In that case, despite the accused having remained in custody for over five years and the trial not having commenced, this Court declined to interfere with the rejection of bail qua one accused, while upholding bail granted to another, thereby reiterating that delay-based pleas must necessarily be adjudicated on an accused-specific footing. Significantly, even while acknowledging the constitutional imperative of a speedy trial, the Court did not eclipse the statutory rigour under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA but instead directed expeditious conclusion of the trial and cautioned against any conduct on the part of the accused that may further protract the ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e context in which the Article 21 claim is assessed. 47. A closely allied consideration is the role attributed to the accused. Prosecutions under the UAPA may allege varying degrees of participation, ranging from peripheral acts to strategic, organisational, or ideological centrality. The constitutional significance of prolonged incarceration cannot be assessed uniformly for all accused regardless of role. Where the attribution suggests a central or organising role in the alleged design, the need for circumspection before constitutional intervention displaces a statutory embargo is correspondingly greater. Conversely, where the role is peripheral or episodic, prolonged incarceration may more readily assume a punitive character. 48. Another consideration is the prima facie strength of the accusation at the limited threshold contemplated by Section 43D(5). At this stage, the Court does not weigh evidence, test defences, or conduct a mini trial. Yet, the constitutional inquiry cannot proceed as if all allegations are identically situated. Whether the prosecution material, taken at its highest, discloses a prima facie nexus between the accused and the statutory ingredients is a c....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....onstitution itself recognises competing interests. Nor does it render Section 43D(5) absolute. It recognises that statutory restraint must yield in an appropriate case where detention becomes punitive by reason of unreasonable and unjustified delay. What it excludes is a mechanical override based on time alone, divorced from legal context. 54. Having set out the above governing approach, this Court, in the later part of this judgment would apply these principles in a calibrated manner viz. to the claim of each of the appellants. The Court will examine, in relation to each appellant, the role attributed and whether the statutory threshold under Section 43D(5) is attracted on the prosecution material taken at its highest. Thereafter, where the plea of delay and prolonged incarceration is pressed, the Court will consider whether the circumstances warrant constitutional intervention in terms of the principles noticed above, or whether appropriate directions for expeditious trial would adequately address the concern expressed under Article 21. 55. It is in this disciplined manner, and in faithful regard to both statutory design and constitutional principle, that the present appeal....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....y do not support an approach of automatic displacement of statutory restraint, but instead emphasise a contextual and measured exercise of judicial scrutiny. 61. To read Najeeb (supra) as mandating bail solely on account of prolonged incarceration, irrespective of the statutory context or the nature of the allegations, would be to attribute to the decision a consequence it neither intended nor supports. Such a construction would also lead to an interpretive absurdity, whereby a special statute enacted by Parliament to address offences implicating the sovereignty, integrity, and security of the State would stand effectively neutralised by the mere passage of time, even at a pre-trial stage. Such an outcome cannot be countenanced in constitutional adjudication. Accordingly, the finding in Najeeb(supra) is properly situated as a constitutional safeguard to be invoked in appropriate cases, and not as a mathematical formula of universal application. 62. Before parting with the discussion on delay, it is clarified that the observations herein are confined to the present stage of the proceedings. The constitutional concern arising from prolonged custody has been duly considered on t....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....iracy, recognising that the threat sought to be addressed by the statute often materialises long before any overt act of violence is committed. The law thus proceeds on a process-based conception of criminality rather than an event-based one. 67. It is within this legislative backdrop that Section 43D(5) assumes significance. The provision constitutes a conscious departure from the general principles governing the grant of bail under the Code of Criminal Procedure. Parliament has imposed a calibrated restriction on the power of courts to grant bail in respect of offences under Chapters IV and VI, reflecting its assessment that the ordinary presumption in favour of pre-trial liberty requires modification where allegations pertain to activities threatening the foundations of the State. 68. At the same time, Section 43D(5) does not exclude judicial scrutiny. Nor does it mandate denial of bail by default. The restriction operates only upon the Court being satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the accused is prima facie true. The provision thus preserves the judicial function, while carefully defining its contours at the pre-trial st....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....bstention, at the pre-trial stage. 74. A salient feature of Section 43D(5) is its express reference to "such person". The statutory text mandates an inquiry that is accused-specific rather than case-centric. The provision does not permit a collective or undifferentiated approach to bail merely because multiple accused are arraigned in the same prosecution or alleged conspiracy. 75. The Court is thus required to examine the role attributed to the individual accused, as emerging from the prosecution material, and to determine whether such attribution bears a prima facie nexus to the offences under Chapters IV or VI. This inquiry does not involve ranking degrees of culpability or pronouncing upon guilt. It serves the limited purpose of determining whether the statutory threshold is crossed qua the accused before the Court. 76. In cases alleging conspiratorial conduct, it becomes necessary to distinguish between the existence of a conspiracy and the position occupied by an accused within the alleged framework. While conspiracy may supply the overarching context, Section 43D(5) requires attention to the nature, extent, and character of participation attributed to the individual....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....stage is not an abdication of duty but a fulfilment of the statutory mandate. These propositions, read together, define the contours of judicial power and responsibility under the provision. 81. The correct application of Section 43D(5), therefore, requires the Court to undertake a structured inquiry confined to the following: i. whether the prosecution material, accepted as it stands, discloses a prima facie case satisfying the statutory ingredients of the offence alleged; ii. whether the role attributed to the accused reflects a real and meaningful nexus to the unlawful activity or terrorist activity proscribed under the Act, as distinguished from mere association or peripheral presence; and iii. whether the statutory threshold is crossed qua the individual accused, without embarking upon an assessment reserved after full- fledged trial. 82. Where these requirements are met, the statutory restraint on the grant of bail must operate with full force; where they are not, the embargo stands lifted. This approach preserves the legislative purpose of the Act, and ensures that the exceptional nature of the bail regime under Section 43D(5) is neither dilu....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ion of the threshold. It is for this reason that the Court considers it appropriate to briefly notice the scope of Section 15, and its inter-relationship with allied provisions, so that the analysis which follows proceeds on a clear legal foundation and is thereafter applied, with the necessary care and precision, to each appellant individually. 86. Section 15 of the Act defines what constitutes a "terrorist act" for the purposes of the statute. The definition is structured around two essential elements. First, the act must be done with intent to threaten, or be likely to threaten, the unity, integrity, security, including economic security, or sovereignty of India, or with intent to strike terror in the people or any section thereof. Second, the act must be of such a nature as to cause, or be likely to cause, the consequences enumerated in the provision. 87. The means by which such acts may be committed are not confined to the use of bombs, explosives, firearms, or other conventional weapons alone. Parliament has consciously employed the expression "by any other means of whatever nature", which expression cannot be rendered otiose. The statutory emphasis is thus not solely o....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....at a general level. The consideration that follows is therefore confined to the individual role attributed to each appellant and the prima facie satisfaction recorded against them under Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, without reopening the issue of delay except to the extent it bears upon individual attribution. 93. The Court has thus traversed the submissions on prolonged incarceration and the constitutional framework within which such pleas are to be examined in prosecutions under a special statute. The contours of the statutory restraint contained in Section 43D(5) have been delineated, and the scope and meaning of a "terrorist act" under Section 15 of the Act, read with the allied provisions, have also been clarified. 94. The arguments before us made it evident that while certain submissions were urged on common grounds, the ultimate determination cannot rest on general propositions alone. The application of the law must necessarily turn on the role attributed to each accused, the nature of the material relied upon, and the manner in which the courts below have appreciated the same. 95. It therefore becomes necessary to examine each ap....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....g the possibility of interference with witnesses or reactivation of dormant networks. As against this, co-accused with no independent capacity to mobilise resources or exert organisational leverage do not present the same systemic risk. The logic of detention cannot be applied homogenously where the risk profiles of the accused are markedly dissimilar. 100. The gravity of the alleged act is unquestionably serious however, public interest and national security concerns may be engaged to a materially different degree depending on the role of each accused. The continued detention of those alleged to be the architects of the conspiracy may be required to safeguard broader security interests and deter future acts, whereas the rationale for continued incarceration of minor participants is comparatively attenuated once the investigative purpose is exhausted. The Court is therefore justified in calibrating its approach, ensuring that the pursuit of security does not eclipse the principle of proportionality. 101. It is well recognised that Article 21 rights, though not absolute, require the State and the Court to justify continued custody with reference to the specific individual befo....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....cupying a position distinct from the remaining accused, both in terms of conceptual involvement and command over the alleged conspiracy. 105. At the outset, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam are prima facie attributed a central role and alleged to be ideological drivers of the alleged conspiracy. The material relied upon against them is predominantly in the nature of speeches, meetings, digital communications, and alleged strategic deliberations, commencing immediately after the passage of the CAB/CAA. The charge-sheets attribute to them the role of formulating the protest strategy, including the alleged transition from sit-in demonstrations to chakka jams, selection of locations, and articulation of the broader political objective sought to be advanced. Their alleged acts are thus situated at the planning and preparatory stage, extending over a prolonged period. 106. In contradistinction, the remaining accused namely Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Shadab Ahmad, Athar Khan, and others are consistently described as local-level facilitators. Their alleged involvement is site-specific and operational, confined to particular localities such as See....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....g from the remaining accused, both in the prosecution narrative and in the evidentiary basis relied upon. This structural distinction cannot be ignored and must inform any judicial determination relating to culpability, parity, or the applicability of penal provisions requiring a heightened threshold of intent and participation. Having thus delineated the structural and evidentiary differentiation emerging from the prosecution case itself, it becomes necessary for the Court to examine the bail pleas in an accused-specific manner. The exercise that follows is not one of adjudicating culpability, which lies exclusively within the domain of trial, but of assessing whether the statutory threshold governing pre-trial liberty is attracted qua each appellant. It is in this limited but essential context that the Court now proceeds to consider the submissions advanced on behalf of each accused individually, bearing in mind the role attributed, the nature of material relied upon, and the stage of the proceedings. 6. SHARJEEL IMAM - APPELLANT IN SLP (CRL.) NO. 14030 OF 2025 6.1. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF APPELLANT: 111. Learned Senior Counsel for the appellant Sri Siddhartha Dave subm....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ubmitted that there is no allegation of any communication or connectivity between the appellant and the other accused persons, including participation in WhatsApp groups such as DPSG, Pinjra Tod or JCC. 116. The learned Senior Counsel for the appellant submitted that the record demonstrates that the appellant repeatedly spoke against violence as a means of protest, that he was already in custody well before the incidents of February 2020, and that even the prosecution witnesses do not place him at Shaheen Bagh or any protest site after the first week of January. It is further pointed out that the WhatsApp group "Muslim Students of JNU" is stated to have become inoperative after mid-January 2020, and that the appellant is not an accused in any FIR relating to the actual incidents of rioting or violence. 117. Learned Senior Counsel submits that, in these circumstances, the statutory threshold under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA is not met. It is urged that protest-related speech, pamphleteering, and mobilisation for non-violent demonstrations, even if assumed to be politically charged, do not by themselves disclose offences under Chapters IV or VI of the UAPA, absent any proximate....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... of a larger criminal conspiracy which ultimately culminated in widespread violence in Delhi. It is urged that the prosecution material, as analysed in detail by the High Court, clearly establishes that the conspiracy did not originate in February 2020 as a spontaneous reaction, but was set in motion in a calibrated and phased manner from early December 2019 onwards, with the appellant being one of its principal architects from the inception itself. 123. It is submitted that the appellant's role is traceable to the first phase of the conspiracy, which involved deliberate mobilisation, radicalisation and preparation of ground conditions through organised chakka jams, blockage of arterial roads, and disruption of essential services. The High Court has noted that this phase was not spontaneous, but involved prior planning, coordination and dissemination of instructions, and that the appellant played a central role in conceptualising and operationalising this strategy through meetings, digital platforms and public speeches. 124. Learned ASG Sri S.V. Raju submitted that the prosecution relies upon contemporaneous electronic evidence, including WhatsApp chats recovered from the....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....entalised manner. 128. Learned ASG Sri S.V. Raju further submitted that the appellant attended and participated in conspiratorial meetings at Jangpura and within the JNU ecosystem, where the strategy of chakka jam and escalation of protests was discussed. The High Court has relied upon witness statements, photographic material and call-detail and location evidence to record the appellant's presence and participation in these meetings. It is urged that following these meetings, further coordination groups were created, evidencing a clear progression from planning to execution. 129. It was submitted that the appellant's role was not geographically confined to Delhi. Acting as a mobiliser and ideologue, the appellant travelled to Aligarh and other locations to replicate and export the protest model, aligning regional protests with the broader Delhi-centric strategy. The High Court notes that this was done in coordination with other conspirators, demonstrating that the conspiracy was pan-regional in conception and execution, and not localised or spontaneous. 130. Learned ASG Sri S.V. Raju submitted that the appellant played a decisive role in the creation and sustenanc....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ail application filed by the Appellant. The Court held that the material on record disclosed prima facie involvement of the appellant in a deep-rooted and well-orchestrated criminal conspiracy relating to the North- East Delhi riots of February 2020. On a cumulative reading of the charge-sheet, witness statements under Sections 161 and 164 Cr.P.C., WhatsApp chats of coordinated groups, and other documentary and electronic evidence, the Court found that the protests were not spontaneous but were deliberately planned, escalated into chakka-jam, and thereafter converted into targeted violence, including attacks on police and destruction of public and private property. At the stage of bail, the Court emphasized that it was sufficient if the prosecution material, taken at face value, disclosed the appellant's complicity in the conspiracy, without a detailed appreciation of evidence. 136. A decisive ground for rejection of bail was the statutory embargo under Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Applying the principles laid down in NIA v. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali (supra), the Trial Court held that once there exist reasonable grounds for believing that ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....uptive chakka-jaams and paralysing essential services. The High Court found that these acts, when read together with subsequent events, demonstrated planning, preparation, and incitement, and that conspiracy liability does not depend on physical presence at riot sites once foundational planning and instigation are prima facie established. 140. Invoking Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, the High Court Court held that the accusations against Sharjeel Imam crossed the threshold of prima facie truth, thereby statutorily barring bail. The argument that his conduct amounted at best to an offence under Section 13 UAPA, or that his speeches were protected expression, was rejected at the bail stage. The High Court further held that his judicial custody prior to the actual riots did not dilute his alleged role, since the prosecution case was that the conspiracy had already been conceptualised and operationalised by then. Pleas of parity, delay in trial, and evidentiary weaknesses were found insufficient to override the statutory embargo, resulting in dismissal of his bail appeal. 6.5.DISCUSSION ON ROLE AND FINDINGS: 141. On 04.12.2019, immediately after the Cabinet Committee accorded approva....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....tention and was attended by several students, including Umar Khalid. On 10.12.2019, Nadeem Khan (one of the top conspirators and a close associate of Umar Khalid, who is also a mentor of Sharjeel Imam) directed Sharjeel Imam to visit Aligarh Muslim University to mobilize the students for the protest. 143. On 10.12.2019, Nadeem Khan, stated to be a close associate of Umar Khalid and a mentor to Sharjeel Imam, allegedly directed Sharjeel Imam to visit Aligarh Muslim University for mobilising students for the protests. On 11.12.2019, Sharjeel Imam allegedly reached Aligarh. As per the charge-sheet, on 12.12.2019, in furtherance of the alleged common conspiracy, Asif Iqbal Tanha, an accused in the case and a prominent member of the Student Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), issued a call for a protest march to Parliament from JMI against the CAA, scheduled for 13.12.2019. Pursuant thereto, a new WhatsApp group titled Muslim Students of JNU_1 was created at the behest of Sharjeel Imam. It is alleged that on 13.12.2019, members of MSJ were directed by Sharjeel Imam to reach Jamia Millia Islamia University, following which protests took place at the said campus. Call Detail Record (C....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....2361;ल्लों में दूध बंद करना चाहते हैं, पानी बंद करना चाहते हैं। खुलकर बोहलए यार (बिलकुल)।" 145. The charge-sheet further alleges that riots occurred on 13.12.2019 at Jamia Gate No. 7, during which civilians and approximately 20 police personnel sustained injuries, public and private property was damaged, and essential services were disrupted. FIR No. 296/2019 was registered in respect of the said incident. In relation to the speech delivered at Jamia Millia Islamia University, FIR No. 22/2020 was also registered against Sharjeel Imam at Police Station Crime Branch. 146. It is further alleged that on 15.12.2019, Sharjeel Imam convened a meeting of the MSJ Core Committee at Teflas, a dhaba located within the JNU campus, where further plans of action were discussed. The charge-sheet alleges....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....25;े 5 लाख लोग हमारे पास हो organised तो हम हिंदुस्तान और नॉर्थ ईस्ट को permanently cut कर सकते हैं," "असम को काटना हमारी जिम्मेदारी है असम और इंडिया काट कर अलग हो जायें, तभी ये हमारी बात सुनेंगे" अगर हमें असम की मदद करनी है, तो हमें असम क&....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....f the bail stage enquiry under a special statute. The task is neither to decide guilt nor to pronounce upon the correctness of competing interpretations of evidence. The enquiry is confined to determining whether, on the prosecution material as it stands and taken at face value, there exist reasonable grounds for believing that the accusations against the appellant are prima facie true, thereby attracting the statutory embargo under Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. 152. The appellant has urged, broadly, that he was not in Delhi after the second week of January 2020, that he was already in custody from 28.01.2020 in another case, that he was not present at the sites of the February 2020 riots, that no weapons were recovered from him, that he did not participate in meetings where violence was planned, and that the prosecution against him is substantially founded on speeches, pamphlets and a WhatsApp group which, according to him, are already the subject matter of a separate FIR wherein bail has been granted with observations that the speeches do not contain a call for violence. These submissions are supplemented by a plea of parity with several co-....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....the prosecution places reliance on contemporaneous electronic communications to attribute a coordination and mobilisation role, the Court cannot treat such material as irrelevant merely because the defence disputes its ultimate probative value. 158. The appellant has attempted to frame the allegation as one resting solely on speech. The record, at least as placed by the prosecution, does not permit such reduction. The prosecution case is of a chain comprising: (i) creation and administration of mobilisation platforms; (ii) dissemination of written material intended to galvanise participation; (iii) meetings and coordination; and (iv) public exhortations articulating a strategy of disruption. At the bail stage, the Court is concerned with whether this chain, taken at face value, is coherent and whether it reflects a real nexus to the offences alleged. 159. A significant part of the material relied upon relates to 13.12.2019 at Jamia Millia Islamia. The High Court records that the presence of the appellant in Jamia Millia Islamia is reflected by CDR location of his mobile number. It further records that the appellant organised a "chakka jam" and that this chakka jam was differe....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....clude the matter in a prosecution founded on conspiracy and preparatory roles. The prosecution case, as analysed by the courts below, is that the appellant's role is foundational, operating at the stage of mobilisation, organisation and strategy, and that physical presence at the scene of the final violence is not a condition precedent for attributing conspiracy liability. 165. At the present stage, therefore, the absence argument cannot be treated as exculpatory. It is a matter to be tested at trial in the light of complete evidence. The bail stage enquiry cannot be converted into a determination that once the appellant is not physically present during the February riots, his earlier attributed role becomes legally irrelevant. 166. The appellant has urged that the case against him is built entirely on speech, pamphlets and protest related activity. The Court does not accept that characterisation as complete. The prosecution material, as presently placed, alleges a combination of organisational acts, coordination through digital groups, meetings and differentiated strategy of chakka jam and blockade. 167. Further, even within the speech related material, the prosecutio....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....h full force. The Court cannot then enlarge the appellant on bail by proceeding as though the statutory restraint were a matter of discretionary balancing. The statutory design, as already noted earlier in the judgment, requires the Court to refuse bail where there exist reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation is prima facie true. 172. The plea of parity, though pressed with emphasis, cannot override the statutory conclusion. Parity is not applied by numerical comparison. It is applied by similarity of role, similarity of attribution, and similarity of the material relied upon. The courts below have treated the appellant's role as qualitatively distinct, and the material noticed above indicates why the prosecution alleges a foundational role at the early stage. In such circumstances, parity cannot be invoked mechanically to dilute the statutory embargo. 173. The plea of delay has already been addressed at a general level in the earlier portion of the judgment. In the appellant's case, the Court remains mindful of the scale of the trial. Yet, once the prima facie threshold is crossed, the appropriate judicial response is to ensure prioritisation and expedi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ries whatsoever have been effected from the appellant or at his instance. The record does not disclose recovery of any weapons, arms, ammunition, explosives, inflammable substances, funds, or other incriminating articles. No physical, forensic, or electronic evidence connects the appellant with any violent act. Despite registration of a large number of FIRs in connection with the riots, the prosecution has not relied upon any recovery or witness statement from those FIRs to link the appellant with actual violence. Apart from the present FIR, the appellant was arraigned in only one other FIR arising from the same period, in which he was granted bail and subsequently discharged. 180. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that the prosecution alleges criminal conspiracy primarily on the basis of the appellant's alleged participation in meetings and protests and his alleged association with certain WhatsApp groups. It was pointed out that the appellant neither created nor administered the WhatsApp groups relied upon by the prosecution and was not a member of some of the principal groups alleged to have been used for coordination. The record indicates that the appellant did not send a....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....r intended to cause death, injuries, destruction of property, or disruption of essential services by any violent or hazardous means. Apart from speech, association, and alleged presence, no factual act is attributed to the appellant to demonstrate commission of offences under Chapter IV of the UAPA. 7.2. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENT: 184. Learned ASG Sri S.V. Raju appearing for the respondent submitted that the prosecution case, read as a whole, discloses the active and central role of the appellant, Umar Khalid, in a larger criminal conspiracy which culminated in widespread violence, disruption of essential services, and communal riots in North-East Delhi. It was contended that the case against the appellant does not rest on isolated incidents or stray speeches, but on a continuous and coordinated course of conduct beginning from December 2019, involving meetings, organisational planning, mobilisation, and execution of a strategy of "chakka jam" distinct from peaceful protest, with the deliberate object of escalating tensions and paralysing the city. 185. It was submitted that the appellant was not a peripheral participant but an ideologue and organiser who concept....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....vered at Amravati on 17.02.2020 forms part of this larger factual matrix. The State contended that the speech cannot be viewed in isolation, but must be read in conjunction with prior meetings, subsequent coordination, and the timing of events. It was urged that the speech, delivered without requisite permission, called for nationwide disruption, invocation of civil disobedience, and collective defiance, which, when coupled with the contemporaneous conspiracy and subsequent violence, prima facie establishes intentional incitement and preparation. The State submitted that the speech reinforced the operational strategy already put in motion. 189. It was further submitted that the offences invoked under Sections 15, 16 and 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act are attracted not merely by use of weapons or explosives, but also by acts intended to threaten the unity, integrity, security and economic stability of the nation, including by disruption of essential services and creation of widespread fear. The prosecution contended that the deliberate blocking of roads, mobilisation at sensitive sites, coordination across districts, and incitement to escalate protests into violen....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....bative value of evidence and concluded that the accusations against the appellant were prima facie true. Subsequent Supreme Court judgments had reaffirmed the law laid down in Watali and Gurvinder Singh. 194. Finally, the Court held that it was bound by the concurrent findings of the Trial Court and the Delhi High Court rejecting bail, which had attained finality after withdrawal of proceedings before the Supreme Court. The plea of parity with co-accused was rejected, as the appellant's role had already been independently examined and distinguished. In view of the statutory bar under Section 43D(5) UAPA and the prima facie findings on record, the Court found no merit in the application and dismissed it. 7.4. FINDINGS OF THE HIGH COURT: 195. The Court held that the prosecution material, taken cumulatively, disclosed prima facie involvement of Umar Khalid as a key conspirator and mobiliser in the larger conspiracy that culminated in the February 2020 Delhi riots. It was noted that he allegedly played a central role in conceptualising and directing mass mobilisation against the CAA/NRC through coordinated meetings, formation and control of multiple WhatsApp groups (includ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....mar Khalid is alleged to have attended a meeting held at premises bearing No. 6/6, Jangpura Extension, Delhi. The said meeting, which was led by Yogendra Yadav, is stated in the charge-sheet to have resulted in a decision to further the alleged conspiracy of enforcing "Chakka Jams" with the objective of engineering riots. The charge-sheet is stated to contain a photograph of the meeting attended by Umar Khalid on 08.12.2019 at the aforesaid premises. After the conclusion of the meeting, a WhatsApp group titled "CAB Team" was allegedly created for the purpose of organising anti-CAA protests and for mass mobilisation of the Muslim community. In furtherance of the discussions held in the said group, a protest is stated to have taken place on 10.12.2019 at Jantar Mantar, Delhi, which was also attended by Umar Khalid. 199. On 13.12.2019, in furtherance of the alleged conspiracy, Sharjeel Imam is stated to have been introduced by Umar Khalid to students of Jamia Millia Islamia University. It is further alleged that Umar Khalid stated that he had explained to Sharjeel Imam the distinction between a dharna and a chakka jam, and that, at the relevant point of time, they were planning to ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... Muslim population in Muslim-dominated areas of Delhi for establishing 24x7 protest sites aimed at enforcing "Chakka Jams". As per the statements of protected witnesses, Umar Khalid, along with Nadeem Khan, is alleged to have directed one Amanullah to visit Muslim-dominated localities and mobilise residents for the protests, while also encouraging greater participation of women and children, with the purported intent that the presence of women and children would deter the police from dismantling the protest sites. It is further alleged that on 26.12.2019, a meeting was held at the Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Colony, which was attended by Umar Khalid and others, in continuation of the alleged conspiracy. Subsequently, on 28.12.2019, another WhatsApp group titled Delhi Protest Support Group (DPSG) was created for the purpose of disseminating decisions taken by its members among organisers of various protest sites for execution of the alleged conspiracy. Umar Khalid is stated to have been a member of the said group. 202. On 02.01.2020, a meeting was convened by the administrator of the DPSG, namely Rahul Roy, at the Gandhi Peace Foundation, which was attended by Umar Khalid. As ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ith the directions issued by him and other alleged executors of the conspiracy, protesters under the guise of women-led 24x7 sit-in protests near Madina Masjid, Seelampur, moved and occupied the 66 Foot Road near Jafrabad Metro Station, thereby completely blocking traffic, constituting a "Chakka Jam". Thereafter, in pursuance of and in furtherance of the common conspiracy, on 23.02.2020, protesters from other protest sites in North-East Delhi and other parts of the city are alleged to have moved from their respective sites to pre-decided points on major roads and blocked, or attempted to block, traffic entirely, thereby enforcing coordinated chakka jams. The charge-sheet states that these blockade points were strategically selected so as to effect a simultaneous and coordinated traffic paralysis across large parts of the city. According to the prosecution, the intent behind these blockades "was not to create traffic chaos but to ensure communal skirmish, as is evident from the movement from predominantly minority clusters, where 24x7 sit-in dharnas were being held, to areas of mixed population for causing the chakka jam." 206. On 23.02.2020, it is alleged in the charge-sheet tha....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....the orchestration of the protests and the resultant riots to Umar Khalid, describing him as the principal architect of the events that unfolded. 209. The appellant presses, in substance, three propositions: first, that no overt act of violence is attributed to him and no recoveries have been effected; second, that his alleged presence in meetings, association with groups, and a speech at Amravati cannot be transmuted into offences under Chapters IV and VI of the UAPA; and third, that the prosecution case is an impermissible conflation of protest with terrorism. These submissions are framed with care. Yet they must be tested against the only inquiry open to this Court at this stage: whether the prosecution material, taken as it stands and read cumulatively, furnishes reasonable grounds for believing that the accusations against the appellant are prima facie true, thereby attracting the statutory restraint under Section 43D(5). 210. Two foundational clarifications are necessary. One, the Court is not assessing whether the prosecution will ultimately succeed; it is assessing whether the prosecution case, as presented, crosses the statutory threshold at the bail stage. Two, consp....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....atement of direction and role allocation. 214. The appellant urges that he was not present at riot sites in the critical period. That submission, even if assumed correct, does not answer the prosecution case, because the prosecution does not pitch him as an executor of the terminal violence; it pitches him as a person involved in shaping the method and seeding the strategy earlier. In a phased conspiracy, physical absence at the final scene is not the end of the inquiry; it may, at best, shift the inquiry upstream, to see whether the accused is linked to the preparatory and coordinating stages. 215. The appellant emphasises lack of recoveries, absence of weapons, and absence of forensic linkage. In ordinary IPC bail jurisprudence, these factors often have weight. Under a special statute alleging a wider conspiracy with distributed roles, these factors cannot be made decisive. A conspiracy organiser may leave no recoveries because the organisers do not carry the instruments that the executors use. If recoveries were treated as a universal requirement, conspiracy cases would be structurally immunised at the bail stage for those who organise rather than execute. The statute does....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....es. 220. The record, as placed, indicates that the appellant is shown as a member of DPSG and that protected witness material speaks to the coordinating character of such groups. Whether the appellant sent incriminating messages is not the only relevant factor. In a coordination structure, some speak, others steer. A conspirator's role may be inferred from where he is placed in the architecture, not only from what he typed in a chat window. 221. The appellant places heavy reliance on the Amravati speech, urging that it repeatedly invokes non-violence and constitutional protest. The prosecution urges that the speech forms part of a larger matrix of mobilisation and was delivered in temporal proximity to the culminating phase. At this stage, the Court must resist from committing two errors. The first is to criminalise speech merely because it is politically charged. The second is to immunise a continuing course of conduct merely because it contains language of non-violence. 222. In conspiracy jurisprudence, outward disavowal and inward design may co-exist; public caution does not necessarily negate private preparation. That is why the law insists on cumulative assessment....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....to dilute the statutory threshold by undertaking credibility findings. The balance must be maintained: constitutional concern is real, but statutory restraint is equally real. Where the prima facie threshold continues to be crossed, delay is met through expeditious trial directions and continued judicial monitoring, not by negating Section 43D(5). 227. It is necessary, at this juncture, to clarify the juridical distinction between ordinary public disorder, which may arise even in the course of legitimate protest, and the prosecution's pleaded case of systemic disruption. Not every disruption of traffic, not every blockade, and not every law-and-order incident engages the statutory framework of the UAPA. The statute is attracted only where the conduct alleged, taken cumulatively, is capable of being understood as threatening the unity, integrity, security, or sovereignty of the nation, or as creating a climate of fear and paralysis transcending ordinary disorder. 228. The prosecution case, as placed before this Court, does not proceed on the footing that the protests merely inconvenienced commuters or strained policing resources. It proceeds on the footing that a deliberat....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....en accompanied by stockpiling of potentially harmful materials, as per protected witness statements, and by preparations to escalate confrontation when police intervention or counter- mobilisation occurred. 234. At the bail stage, the Court cannot test whether the protected witness statements regarding stockpiling or inducement of local residents will ultimately withstand scrutiny. What the Court can do is to examine whether, if those statements are accepted as they stand, they support an allegation that the agitation was not confined to symbolic protest, but contemplated engineered confrontation along communal fault lines. 235. The prosecution case, taken cumulatively, pleads precisely this: that the blockade strategy was designed not merely to inconvenience, but to provoke, to polarise, and to create a breakdown of communal peace. Where such an allegation is supported, at least prima facie, by statements, chronology, and alleged coordination, the Court cannot trivialise it as an inevitable by-product of protest. 236. It is this pleaded design to fracture communal harmony, rather than the expression of dissent per se, which distinguishes the prosecution case from a narrative....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....r weeks, involving repeated meetings, formation of coordinating bodies, issuance of directions, and alleged preparations for escalation. The Court cannot, at the bail stage, segregate this course of conduct into isolated benign fragments and assess each in abstraction. 243. To do so would amount to substituting a compartmentalised analysis for the cumulative approach mandated by law in conspiracy cases, particularly under a special statute. The correct inquiry is whether the material, taken as a whole, discloses a prima facie case that the accused was part of an agreement or design to engage in unlawful activity of the nature alleged. On the prosecution material placed before us, that inquiry must be answered in the affirmative. 244. Having regard to the prosecution material as placed, including the chronology of meetings, the alleged articulation and propagation of the chakka jam strategy, the operation of coordinating committees and groups, the protected witness statements alleging preparatory and escalation-related discussions, the pleaded movement of protest activity into mixed-population zones, and the alleged systemic disruption of civic life in the National Capital, th....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ions imposed. It was emphasized that there is not even an allegation that the appellant attempted to abscond, tamper with evidence, or influence witnesses. Learned senior counsel submitted that the appellant did not contribute to the delay in the proceedings, having concluded his arguments on charge in a single sitting and having not sought unrelied documents, and therefore, continued detention cannot be justified on grounds traditionally recognised in bail jurisprudence. 250. It was then submitted that even on a prima facie appreciation of the prosecution material, the essential ingredients of the offences under Sections 2(o) and 15 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act are not made out qua the appellant. Learned senior counsel submitted that the appellant is not a member of the DPSG WhatsApp group, which forms the fulcrum of the alleged conspiracy. His inclusion in one JCC group was, at best, incidental and subject to a clear restriction that alumni members would neither chair meetings nor speak. It was contended that there is no material to indicate that the appellant incited violence, facilitated riots, or indulged in any act intended to threaten the unity, integrity, ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ere protest or dissent, but a carefully planned and executed criminal conspiracy which culminated in large-scale violence, arson, and loss of life during the North-East Delhi riots of February 2020. It was urged that the appellant, Shifa-ur-Rehman, was not a peripheral or incidental participant, but played a significant and decisive role in furtherance of the conspiracy. The State submitted that the impugned order correctly appreciates the gravity of the offences, the nature of the allegations, and the material collected during investigation, and therefore does not warrant interference. 255. Learned ASG Sri S.V. Raju further submitted that the appellant, being the President of the Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia and a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee, functioned as a key financier and logistic facilitator of the protest sites which were subsequently escalated into violent "Chakka Jaam" and riot situations. Statements of several protected witnesses recorded under Section 164 CrPC consistently disclose that the appellant collected funds in cash, distributed money to organisers and participants, arranged daily wages, and ensured uninterrupted functioning of mul....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....aneous but the outcome of a calibrated plan executed under the guise of protest, resulting in loss of innocent lives, injuries to police personnel, and widespread destruction of property. Grant of bail in such circumstances would undermine the statutory object of the special enactment and erode public confidence in the administration of justice. The State, therefore, prayed that the appeal be dismissed and the impugned order refusing bail be upheld. 8.3. FINDINGS OF THE TRIAL COURT : 260. The Trial Court vide order dated 07.04.2022, passed in IA. No. 73/2021 in SC 163/2020 dismissed the bail application filed by the Appellant. The Court found that the material placed on record, including the charge-sheet, statements of witnesses recorded under Sections 161 and 164 Cr.P.C., electronic evidence, and WhatsApp chats of coordinated groups, disclosed prima facie involvement of the accused in a deep-rooted and well-orchestrated criminal conspiracy relating to the North-East Delhi riots of February 2020. On a cumulative reading of the prosecution material, the Court held that the protests were not spontaneous but were deliberately planned, escalated into chakka-jam, and thereafter....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....l were held to prima facie indicate that funds were mobilised not merely for peaceful protest but for sustaining chakka-jaams and their escalation. At the bail stage, the Court found that his role as a financial enabler and organiser was integral to the operationalisation of the conspiracy. 265. Applying the statutory embargo under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, the Court held that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the accusations against Shifa-ur-Rehman were prima facie true, thereby barring bail. The pleas that AAJMI was a lawful organisation, that the funds were used only for legitimate protest expenses, that there was no direct incitement, and that parity existed with co-accused released on bail were rejected. The Court clarified that the role attributed to Shifa-ur-Rehman as a fundraiser and coordinator was qualitatively distinct and more serious, and that questions regarding source, quantum, and use of funds are matters for trial. Consequently, the bail appeal was dismissed. 8.5. DISCUSSION ON ROLE AND FINDINGS: 266. According to the charge-sheet, Shifa-ur-Rehman, stated to be the President of the Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI), is allege....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....eering violent riots. 271. According to the prosecution, the primary role attributed to Shifa-ur- Rehman was to provide financial and logistical support to all protest sites. The charge-sheet asserts that the funding and logistical assistance allegedly provided by him played an instrumental role in the riots that occurred in Delhi between 23.02.2020 and 26.02.2020, under the ostensible cover of protests against the CAA/NRC. 272. Upon a prima facie consideration of the material presently relied upon by the prosecution, the role attributed to Shifa-ur-Rehman does not disclose participation at the level of conceptualisation or strategic command of the alleged conspiracy. The allegations principally pertain to logistical facilitation, fund- raising, and coordination at identified protest sites, premised upon directions purportedly originating from persons situating themselves above him in the asserted hierarchy. In the absence of demonstrable material suggesting that he exercised autonomous decision-making authority over the alleged broader design, his continued incarceration as a pre-trial measure does not presently appear warranted. 273. The prosecution asserts that Shifa-ur....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....eved through calibrated restrictions short of incarceration. The absence of material suggesting an enduring organisational infrastructure capable of being reactivated through the appellant's efforts weighs significantly against the necessity of continued custody. 277. It is further noted that the prosecution's submissions rely substantially on the appellant's positional proximity to individuals alleged to have played a strategic role. Mere associative proximity, without corresponding evidence demonstrating capacity to exert influence or direction, does not satisfy the threshold required to curtail liberty at the post-investigative stage. The appellant's purported involvement in facilitative tasks, while forming part of the evidentiary matrix to be assessed at trial, cannot be a standalone basis for extending pre-trial detention where imposition of protective conditions offers an adequate safeguard. 278. Where the prosecution narrative itself draws a distinction between strategic architects and operational facilitators, judicial scrutiny at the bail stage must remain attentive to proportionality in attribution. The material presently relied upon depicts the app....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....lhi, arising out of the North- East Delhi riots of February 2020 . It was submitted that the appellant has no criminal antecedents except three FIRs arising out of the same incident, and in two of those FIRs, namely FIR No. 60 of 2020 and FIR No. 136 of 2020, the appellant has already been granted regular bail by competent courts, on substantially the same material relied upon by the prosecution . 282. He further submitted that the gravamen of the allegation against the appellant in the present FIR is one of conspiracy under the UAPA, without any allegation of commission of a terrorist act, use of arms or weapons, funding of violence, delivery of inflammatory or hate speeches, or direct participation in acts of arson or rioting. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that the prosecution case itself records that the appellant is not a member of any of the WhatsApp groups such as JCC, DPSG, MSJ or SOJ, which form the backbone of the alleged conspiracy narrative, and that the appellant has not sent a single message, directly or indirectly, in any of those groups . It was urged that there is no documentary evidence whatsoever in the form of messages, emails or call records to show any co....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....y conclusion wholly illusory. 287. He lastly submitted that the principle of parity has been completely overlooked. Co-accused Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha, against whom far graver and more direct allegations of conspiracy, mobilisation and instigation were levelled, have been granted bail by the High Court, which orders have been affirmed by this Hon'ble Court. The appellant, whose alleged role is demonstrably peripheral and significantly weaker, continues to remain incarcerated, resulting in manifest arbitrariness and unequal treatment. 288. Learned Counsel, therefore, prayed that this Court may be pleased to enlarge the appellant on bail on such terms and conditions as may be deemed fit, in the interest of justice, liberty and parity. 9.2. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT: 289. Learned ASG Sri S.V. Raju appearing on behalf of the respondent submitted that the present case is not one of mere presence at a protest or passive association, but of deep and active participation in a well-orchestrated criminal conspiracy which culminated in large-scale violence, arson, destruction of public and private property, and loss of multiple innocent....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... to these meetings, chakka-jam was first enforced at Jafrabad Metro Station by mobilising crowds from Chand Bagh and Seelampur. This was followed by meetings convened and attended by the appellant on the night of 22 February 2020 at Ayaz's basement, where organisers of various protest sites were informed that chakka-jam had been successfully executed at Jafrabad and were directed to replicate the same in their respective areas. CCTV footage and witness testimonies establish the appellant's role in convening and attending these meetings. 294. It was further submitted that on 23 February 2020, the appellant, along with Athar, Shadab and Saleem Malik @ Munna, physically shifted the Chand Bagh protest from a side location to the main Wazirabad-Ghaziabad road, thereby enforcing chakka-jam at a critical arterial road and deliberately moving protests from Muslim-majority lanes to mixed-population areas to maximise confrontation. Protected witnesses BRAVO and HECTOR have deposed that this coordinated action directly led to escalation of violence, stone-pelting, arson and attacks on police personnel and civilians . 295. Learned ASG Sri S.V. Raju emphasised that when the conspi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....that the present case does not warrant exercise of discretion in favour of bail. The State accordingly prayed for dismissal of the appeal. 9.3. FINDINGS OF THE TRIAL COURT: 300. The Trial Court vide order dated 22.03.2022, passed in IA. No. 96/2021 in SC 163/2020 dismissed the bail application filed by the Appellant. The Trial Court found that the prosecution material disclosed prima facie involvement of the appellant in a large-scale, deep-rooted criminal conspiracy connected with the North-East Delhi riots of February 2020. On a holistic reading of the charge-sheet, supplementary charge-sheets, CCTV analysis, witness statements (including protected witnesses), and WhatsApp group communications (DPSG/JCC), the Court held that the riots were not spontaneous but were systematically planned to escalate protests into chakka-jam and thereafter into organised violence, including attacks on police, destruction of CCTV cameras, arson, and use of deadly weapons. At the stage of bail, the Court emphasised that the individual role of the accused cannot be viewed in isolation and must be assessed in the context of the entire chain of conspiracy. 301. A decisive reason for rejection o....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
...., to have acted upon instructions to disable government-installed CCTV cameras. The Court noted that CCTV footage and witness statements prima facie showed Saleem Khan physically dislocating CCTV cameras, which was considered a crucial preparatory act enabling rioters to operate with impunity. His role was thus viewed as facilitating the transition from protest to large-scale violence, including the attacks that resulted in deaths and grievous injuries to police personnel. 305. Invoking Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, the Court held that the accusations against Saleem Khan met the threshold of prima facie truth, creating a statutory bar to bail. The arguments that he was not a member of major WhatsApp groups, that he had already been granted bail in other FIRs (including one relating to CCTV damage), or that the evidence was insufficient, were rejected. The Court clarified that the present proceedings concerned a larger conspiracy FIR under the UAPA, and that acts such as disabling CCTV cameras assumed grave significance in that context. Issues relating to overlap of FIRs, alleged double jeopardy, and evidentiary weaknesses were held to be matters for trial, leading to dismissal of ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....t Mohd. Saleem Khan attended another meeting held during the intervening night of 20/21.02.2020 at the office of one Ayaz in Chand Bagh, Delhi. According to the prosecution, the plan allegedly conspired by the participants of the meetings held on 17.02.2020 and between 20.02.2020 and 22.02.2020 was executed by protesters from Chand Bagh, including Mohd. Saleem Khan, when they moved from the protest site to the Jafrabad Metro Station on the evening of 22.02.2020. Statements of protected witnesses are relied upon to assert the presence of Saleem Khan at the protest held at Jafrabad Metro Station. It is further alleged that Saleem Khan invited persons to attend a conspiratorial meeting held at Chand Bagh on 22.02.2020, which allegedly culminated in the protest of 23.02.2020 on the main road near the Mazar and the enforcement of a chakka jam on the Wazirabad-Ghaziabad Road. 311. It is further alleged that on the night of 23.02.2020, after riots had erupted in North-East Delhi but were perceived to have fallen short of the intended scale of violence, a conspiratorial meeting was convened at the residence of one Mukhtyar in Chand Bagh by DPSG members Athar and Shadab Ahmad. The meetin....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ng the escalation of protests into chakka jams, the material does not disclose that Saleem exercised control over either the initiation of such meetings or formulation of their outcomes. The attribution is largely derivative, reflecting execution of tasks discussed by others and limited to coordination within the Chand Bagh-Jafrabad cluster. The evidentiary foundation relied upon, even if taken at its highest, does not presently establish that Saleem possessed independent command capacity or strategic discretion warranting ongoing incarceration solely on the basis of his associative presence at key locations. 315. The assertion that Saleem participated in the destruction of CCTV cameras and in facilitating the movement of protestors to designated sites raises matters for trial, however, pre-trial detention cannot be perpetuated merely because violent acts are alleged in proximity to his presence, unless a direct and continuing ability to influence or repeat such conduct is shown. There is no material before this Court indicating that he presently retains access to organisational resources, communication networks, or mobilising power that could enable interference with the admini....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... 320. Lastly, the overarching narrative advanced by the prosecution emphasises the systemic nature of the alleged conspiracy. However, systemic allegations require systemic evidence an associative presence or execution of logistical tasks, without more, does not justify a presumption of continuing threat in the post- investigative stage. Judicial scrutiny at the bail stage must remain sensitive to the distinction between contextual participation and autonomous agency. In the present facts, this distinction militates against further curtailment of Saleem's liberty, and reinforces the principle that deprivation of liberty cannot be sustained without distinct and ongoing justification anchored in necessity rather than inference. 321. Having considered the differentiated attribution of roles among the accused, this Court notes that the prosecution places Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam at the apex of the alleged conspiracy, whereas Saleem is projected as a site-level participant whose presence and conduct derive meaning primarily from directives purportedly issued by others. This structural distinction, coupled with the absence of ongoing investigative necessity and the availabil....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... is argued that the Appellant stands on a better footing, as he is not alleged to have participated in any of the two secret meetings relied upon by the prosecution, was not present at any riot site, and there is no CCTV footage, recovery of weapons, or physical evidence connecting him to acts of violence. It is contended that parity is pressed strictly on factual comparison and not on any alleged dilution of statutory standards under the UAPA. 325. Learned Senior Counsel further submitted that even according to the prosecution's own case, as reflected in the charge-sheet, the Appellant has been categorised as having a comparatively lesser role, being placed in the third category out of four classes of accused. It is urged that this categorisation itself contradicts the finding in the impugned judgment that the Appellant played a "significant role" in the alleged conspiracy. It is argued that the High Court failed to reconcile this internal inconsistency in the prosecution's own material. 326. On merits, it was submitted that the principal allegation against the Appellant relates to financing. Learned Senior Counsel contended that even as per the prosecution, the alle....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....rticle 21 of the Constitution, particularly when he has already undergone more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for several of the alleged offences. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that continued detention in the face of an indeterminate trial timeline amounts to punitive incarceration without adjudication of guilt. 331. On the embargo under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, it was urged that the prosecution material, even if taken at face value, does not disclose a prima facie case of the Appellant's involvement in terrorist acts or conspiracy, and therefore the statutory bar is not attracted. It was submitted that the High Court has mechanically applied the embargo without undertaking the requisite prima facie evaluation of the material specific to the Appellant. 332. In conclusion, learned Senior Counsel submitted that the cumulative effect of prolonged custody, completion of investigation, absence of direct evidence, comparative parity with co-accused on bail, and lack of any likelihood of early trial, warrants grant of bail to the Appellant, and that denial thereof would result in grave and irreparable prejudice. 10.2. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDEN....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....urther submitted that the Appellant actively participated in mobilisation and escalation, exhorting protestors to engage in chakka-jam and to confront police personnel, thereby facilitating the transition from protest to violence. These acts, it is urged, were integral to the execution of the conspiracy and cannot be characterised as protected dissent or lawful protest. 336. On the issue of financing and strategy, learned counsel submits that the Appellant actively collected, handled and channelled funds meant for sustaining protest sites and riot-related activities. Multiple witnesses examined under Sections 161 and 164 CrPC have stated that they handed over money to the Appellant during the relevant period, and cash recoveries were effected from concealed locations within his residence. The State submits that the explanation now sought to be offered regarding the source and purpose of these funds raises disputed questions of fact which cannot be adjudicated at the stage of bail. It is further urged that the Appellant was privy to core strategic decisions of the conspirators, including internal role allocation and narrative management, and that he remained in real-time communic....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....review of the earlier order dated 05.04.2022. having noted the order of the trial court rejecting 2nd bail application, it becomes imperative for us to set out the reasons for dismissal of the 1st bail application of the appellant which is given in the subsequent paragraphs. 339. The Trial Court held that the material placed on record disclosed prima facie involvement of the appellant in a large-scale, deep-rooted and well- orchestrated criminal conspiracy culminating in the North-East Delhi riots of February 2020. On a holistic reading of the charge-sheet, its annexures, case diary, witness statements under Sections 161 and 164 Cr. P.C., WhatsApp chats (including DPSG/JCC), speeches, and other documentary and electronic material, the Court found that the protests against CAA/NRC were not organic but were strategically planned to escalate into chakka-jam and thereafter into widespread violence, targeting police, public order, and property. At the bail stage, the Court emphasized that it was not required to conduct a detailed trial-like evaluation, and that the prosecution material, taken at face value, sufficiently connected the appellant to the conspiracy. 340. A decisive gr....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....terminds. He was alleged to be a core JCC member, part of multiple WhatsApp groups receiving directions from DPSG, and to have played a key role in mobilising protestors, managing protest sites, and raising and disbursing funds. The Court noted recoveries of cash, registers recording monetary transactions, bank-account analysis, call-detail records, and witness statements suggesting that funds were received and utilised for sustaining protests and for escalating chakka- jaams into violence. He was also alleged to have exhorted protestors to collect weapons and intensify confrontations with police, which, at the bail stage, was sufficient to connect him to the execution of the conspiracy. 344. Invoking Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, the High Court held that the accusations against Meeran Haider met the threshold of prima facie truth, creating a statutory bar to bail. The arguments based on completion of investigation, alleged change in circumstances, long incarceration, parity with co-accused granted bail, and claimed benign use of funds were rejected. The Court emphasised that funding and mobilisation form a critical preparatory stage of a conspiracy, and that the role attributed t....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s, Tasleem Ahmed sent a message from Jafrabad to Meeran Haider reporting the commencement of a chakka jam. According to the charge-sheet, this communication indicates that Meeran Haider was responsible for coordinating certain protest sites. 350. On the night intervening 22.02.2020 and 23.02.2020, during the occurrence of the riots, Meeran Haider is alleged to have ensured the participation of Jamia students in the protests by circulating messages on WhatsApp groups. It is further alleged that after each chakka jam was executed, Meeran Haider would receive reports confirming the success of the particular blockade. 351. On 24.02.2020, following alleged threats by certain members of the DPSG to expose those responsible for the violence, the charge-sheet states that Umar Khalid called Meeran Haider to inform him about the next course of action. 352. A prima facie appraisal of the prosecution material indicates that the role ascribed to Meeran Haider is fundamentally that of an organiser and coordinator of designated protest sites within the Jamia network, acting largely upon instructions communicated through alleged higher-level actors. The record does not presently disclose ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... funds towards the alleged conspiracy beyond logistical facilitation incidental to protest management. The distinction between episodic facilitation and sustained financial stewardship bears directly on the question of continuing necessity, for it is only the latter that might prima facie justify custodial restraint on the ground of potential resource-based reactivation. In the absence of such linkage, the appellant's liberty cannot be curtailed merely on apprehensions rooted in past associations. 357. Moreover, the records placed before the Court indicate that critical electronic communications, organisational documents, and statements of witnesses forming the backbone of the prosecution narrative have already been secured. No plea has been advanced asserting that further custodial presence of the appellant is necessary to extract residual evidence or confront him with newly discovered material. Where the investigatory stage has effectively matured and the appellant's participation appears circumscribed by directive structures no longer demonstrably operational, the constitutional presumption of liberty must regain primacy. 358. The Court also takes note that the pro....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....0.05.2020 in FIR No. 59 of 2020, Police Station Crime Branch, arising out of the alleged larger conspiracy relating to the North-East Delhi riots. It was urged that the appellant has undergone incarceration for more than five years and six months, while the case has not progressed beyond the stage of arguments on charge. The prosecution has cited about 835 witnesses and placed over 1,000 documents on record, apart from filing four supplementary charge-sheets, and the delay in commencement of trial is wholly unrelated to the conduct of the appellant. 362. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that the appellant's implication in the present FIR is founded primarily on FIR No. 60 of 2020, Police Station Dayalpur, relating to the death of Head Constable Rattan Lal, and FIR No. 136 of 2020, Police Station Dayalpur, relating to the burning of a Maruti showroom. It was pointed out that the appellant has already been granted bail in both these cases, the High Court having granted bail in FIR No. 60 of 2020 on 03.09.2021 and the Trial Court having granted bail in FIR No. 136 of 2020 on 21.12.2020, and therefore the continued incarceration of the appellant in the present case, which substa....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....material showing the appellant's participation in a series of conspiratorial meetings, including meetings at the Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Road, and secret night meetings held on 16/17 February, 20/21 February and 23 February 2020 at Chand Bagh. These meetings were convened to finalise the roadmap for converting sit-in protests into disruptive chakka-jaam on arterial roads and thereafter engineering violence. Protected witnesses, including Jupiter, Silver, Gold, Bravo and Johny, have deposed that the appellant attended these meetings, issued directions to protest organisers, delivered inflammatory speeches and coordinated execution at the Chand Bagh protest site. 367. Learned ASG Sri S.V. Raju submitted that the reliance placed on Call Detail Records is wholly misconceived and ignores the settled law governing criminal conspiracy. Physical presence at the precise moment of violence is not determinative where the material establishes planning, coordination and assignment of roles. The evidence on record shows that in the conspiratorial meeting held on the night of 23.02.2020, the appellant undertook to get CCTV cameras covered or destroyed through his team. This is corro....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....material, taken at face value, clearly crossed the statutory threshold, thereby barring the grant of bail. 371. The Court rejected the defence submissions that the appellant was merely a volunteer at a peaceful protest site, that DPSG was not a banned organisation, or that there was no direct evidence such as CCTV footage showing him committing violent acts. It held that criminal conspiracy is rarely proved by direct evidence and is ordinarily established through circumstantial evidence, conduct, and the cumulative effect of surrounding circumstances. Alleged inconsistencies in witness statements, delay in recording statements, admissibility of electronic evidence, and claims of false implication were held to be matters for trial, and could not be examined in depth at the bail stage. 372. Finally, the Court underscored the gravity, scale, and societal impact of the offences, noting the loss of lives, including that of a police officer, grievous injuries to several public servants, and extensive damage to public and private property. It reiterated that conspiracy cases require a holistic view of the entire chain of events, and that the appellant had failed to dislodge the prim....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....alation of peaceful sit-ins into chakka jams, which were thereafter intensified into disruptive blockades accompanied by violence. It is further alleged that both Shadab Ahmad and Athar Khan regularly attended DPSG meetings held at the Indian Social Institute, along with members of the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) and leaders of various protest sites across Delhi. At these meetings, the progress of the alleged conspiracy was reviewed and operational directions were issued, including through the DPSG WhatsApp group. Documentary material relied upon by the prosecution is stated to indicate that twelve such meetings were held between December 2019 and February 2020. 376. Shadab Ahmad and Athar Khan are further alleged to have played an active role in executing the protest plan at Chand Bagh as devised by DPSG members. Statements of protected witnesses "Silver", "Gold", "Venus", and "Saturn" are relied upon to support the prosecution case regarding the execution of the plan and the specific role attributed to Shadab Ahmad therein. 377. It is further alleged that Shadab Ahmad was present at a meeting held at the Chand Bagh protest site at approximately 02:00 a.m. on 17.02.20....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....s for disabling the cameras were allegedly assigned to identified members, with CCTV footage relied upon to corroborate the presence and coordination of the accused. 381. The charge-sheet further relies upon reverse mapping of persons arrested for grave offences committed during the North-East Delhi riots, which is stated to trace a clear chain of command to a clandestine meeting held at Chand Bagh at around 02:00 a.m. on 17.02.2020. According to the prosecution, several key perpetrators of murders, rioting, arson, and other serious offences were either present at the said meeting or remained in regular contact with its participants, particularly DPSG members Shadab Ahmad, Athar Khan, Gulfisha Fatima, and Khalid Saifi. The mapping is relied upon to allege coordinated roles in the commission of murders, acts of rioting and arson, destruction of CCTV cameras, assignment of specific targets, and financing of weapons and ammunition, culminating in the framing of charges against core conspirators in FIR No. 60/2020 relating to mass violence and the killing of Head Constable Ratan Lal. It is further alleged that, after the alleged role of DPSG in the riots came to light, members were ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ct matter, and ensuring regular attendance before the trial court. 385. The Court remains mindful that the alleged acts culminated in serious violence yet, the gravity of the incident cannot be the sole criterion to perpetuate detention when the individual's attributed role is operational rather than directive. The prosecution has not demonstrated that Shadab's custodial presence is required for ongoing investigation or that further evidence is contingent upon his continued incarceration. In the absence of such necessity, indefinite pre-trial detention would assume a punitive character inconsistent with constitutional guarantees of personal liberty under Article 21, particularly where the alleged conduct is neither shown to be ongoing nor presently repeatable in a manner jeopardising the proceedings. 386. The Court further notes that the documentary and electronic evidence forming the backbone of the prosecution case has already been secured and subjected to forensic processes, and no submission has been advanced suggesting that Shadab's custodial presence is indispensable for recovery of additional material. The absence of any pending investigative step requiring....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... imposed below, the appellant is held entitled to be enlarged on bail. These observations are confined to the adjudication of bail and shall not be construed as expressing a view on the merits. 12.GULFISHA FATIMA - SLP (CRL.) NO. 13988/2025 12.1. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE APPELLANT: 391. Learned Senior Counsel Sri Abhishek Manu Singhvi for the Appellant submitted that the impugned judgment of the High Court declining bail suffers from a fundamental error in approach, inasmuch as it proceeds on broad generalisations about the nature of the alleged conspiracy while completely losing sight of the specific role attributed to the present Appellant. It was urged that the Appellant has remained in custody since April 2020, now for more than five and a half years, without charges even being framed, and that the denial of bail in such circumstances amounts to a punitive pre-trial incarceration wholly alien to settled constitutional principles. 392. He further submitted that on a plain reading of the charge sheets and the material relied upon by the prosecution, no overt act of violence is attributed to the Appellant at any protest site. The allegations, at the highest, pertai....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....eady enlarged on bail, and despite extraordinary delay in the progress of the case, results in a manifest violation of Article 21 of the Constitution. It was therefore prayed that this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to set aside the impugned judgment and enlarge the Appellant on bail, on such terms and conditions as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit in the interests of justice. 12.2. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE RESPONDENT: 397. Learned ASG Sri S.V. Raju submitted that the role of Gulfisha Fatima, Accused No. 5, is clearly delineated in the charge sheets and supporting material, which establish her as a key local executor of the larger criminal conspiracy. She was not a passive protestor but was entrusted with operational responsibility of the Seelampur-Jafrabad protest site, owing to her status as a local resident with deep community access. The prosecution case is that directions issued by principal conspirators were channelled through Gulfisha Fatima for on-ground execution at this site, making her an indispensable link in the conspiracy chain . 398. It was further submitted that Gulfisha Fatima actively participated in conspiratorial meetings, including the meeting he....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....submitted that the plea of parity raised by Gulfisha Fatima is wholly misconceived, as her role as a local executor and facilitator at a critical protest site distinguishes her from other accused who have been granted bail. The gravity of her specific acts, her proximity to the execution of violence, and the statutory embargo under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA disentitle her from any discretionary relief. It was therefore prayed that the appeal filed by Gulfisha Fatima be dismissed and the order declining bail be affirmed. 12.3. FINDINGS OF THE TRIAL COURT: 403. The Trial Court vide order dated 16.03.2022 passed in IA. No. 72/2021 in SC 163/2020 dismissed the bail application filed by the Appellant. The Trial Court held that the allegations against the appellant disclosed prima facie involvement in a large-scale and deep-rooted criminal conspiracy culminating in the North-East Delhi riots of February 2020. On a holistic reading of the charge- sheet, case diary, witness statements, and electronic material, the Court found sufficient material indicating that the protests were not spontaneous but were engineered, escalated into chakka-jam, and thereafter into targeted violence, wi....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....iracy culminating in the North-East Delhi riots of February 2020. She was alleged to have actively managed and guided multiple protest sites in the Seelampur-Jafrabad area, including the creation of a 24x7 sit-in at Madina Masjid, Seelampur, and the establishment of additional local protest points. The Court noted material indicating her participation in conspiratorial meetings, her role in mobilising women protestors, creation and administration of WhatsApp groups for coordination, use of code words to signal chakka-jaams, and alleged involvement in stockpiling materials for violence. These acts, assessed on broad probabilities, were held sufficient at the bail stage to connect her to the execution of the conspiracy rather than mere presence at protests. 408. Applying the rigour of Section 43D(5) of the UAPA, the Court held that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the accusations against Gulfisha Fatima were prima facie true, thereby creating a statutory bar to bail. The pleas of parity with co-accused granted bail, absence of recoveries, alleged lack of direct incitement, and prolonged incarceration were rejected. The Court clarified that her role, particularly in....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....elied upon in the charge-sheet in support of these allegations. 411. On 17.02.2020, Gulfisha Fatima is alleged to have attended a meeting held at the Chand Bagh protest site during the night hours, which is stated to have been attended by members of DPSG. According to the charge-sheet, approximately twenty persons attended the said meeting, including Gulfisha Fatima. At the said meeting, a roadmap for execution of the final phase of the alleged conspiracy namely, escalation of chakka jams into disruptive chakka jams and the organisation of violence and riots- is stated to have been outlined by co-accused Athar Khan. The charge-sheet relies upon electronic evidence to assert the presence of Gulfisha Fatima at the said meeting. 412. The charge-sheet further alleges that on 22.02.2020, Gulfisha Fatima not only instigated women to participate in the protests but also actively participated in the protest held at the Jafrabad Metro Station. In connection with the riots that occurred at the said location, FIR No. 48/2020 is stated to have been registered. 413. It is further alleged that on 23.02.2020, in furtherance of the conspiracy, approximately 300 women from the Jahangirpuri....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ly fulfilled. 418. The apprehension that her release may lead to interference with witnesses or revival of the alleged operational network is considerably attenuated by the absence of material suggesting that she retains any autonomous capacity to mobilise persons or resources in the current circumstances. It is undisputed that the structures relied upon by the prosecution both formal or informal no longer exist in their asserted form, and the appellant's present ability to exert influence is neither pleaded with specificity nor supported by contemporaneous material. The imposition of stringent conditions can sufficiently safeguard against any residual risk. 419. It bears reiteration that the gravity of the incidents in question, though serious, cannot eclipse the constitutional demand for individualized assessment of necessity in pre-trial detention. Prolonged incarceration premised solely on the seriousness of allegations, absent a proximate and continuing nexus between the appellant and present threats to the administration of justice, would amount to a punitive measure inconsistent with settled principles. In view of her alleged executory role and absence of demonstra....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ged masterminds Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, this Court is of the considered view that further detention is not warranted at this stage. Subject to conditions ensuring regular attendance before the trial court, restrictions on contact with prosecution witnesses, and abstention from public commentary relating to the case and further conditions enumerated hereinbelow., the appellant is held entitled to be enlarged on bail. Nothing stated herein shall be treated as an expression on merits or an assessment of guilt. 425. The appellant's continued detention must also be weighed against the constitutional imperative to ensure that the administration of criminal justice does not operate in a manner that disproportionately burdens women, especially where the investigative agency has concluded its inquiry against her and no custodial interrogation is sought. While gender alone cannot dictate the outcome, it forms a legitimate factor in the proportionality assessment under Article 21, and in the present factual matrix where the appellant's alleged participation lacks the strategic centrality attributed to the principal conspirators this consideration reinforces the conclusion th....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....utional role of the Court, therefore, is neither to mechanically enforce the statutory embargo nor to neutralise it by invocation of liberty as straight-jacket formula, but to apply it with disciplined scrutiny. Where the prosecution material, taken at face value, discloses reasonable grounds for believing the accusation to be prima facie true, the statutory restraint must ordinarily operate. Where it does not, liberty must prevail. Article 21 thus commands the manner of application of the statute; it does not dissolve the statutory condition itself. 429. It is in this constitutional and statutory framework that the individual appeals have been examined based on facts obtained. The Court has consciously avoided a collective or uniform approach. Each appellant has been assessed on the basis of the role attributed, the nature of material relied upon, and the stage of the proceedings, strictly within the limited compass of adjudication for grant of bail. 13.1. ACCUSED IN RESPECT OF WHOM BAIL IS DECLINED 430. This Court is satisfied that the prosecution material, taken at face value as required at this stage, discloses a prima facie attribution of a central and formative role ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....r. This course gives effect to the statutory discipline embodied in Section 43D(5) of UAPA while ensuring that the constitutional guarantee under Article 21 operates as a continuing check against continued incarceration without there being any substantial progress of the trial. 13.2. ACCUSED IN RESPECT OF WHOM BAIL IS GRANTED 433. The appeals arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 13988 of 2025 (Gulfisha Fatima), SLP (Crl.) No. 14132 of 2025 (Meeran Haider), SLP (Crl.) No. 14859 of 2025 (Shifa-ur-Rehman), SLP (Crl.) No. 15335 of 2025 (Mohd. Saleem Khan), and SLP (Crl.) No. 17055 of 2025 (Shadab Ahmed) are allowed as the Court is of the view that, having regard to the role attributed, the nature of the material relied upon, and the present stage of the proceedings, continued incarceration is not shown to be indispensable to the conduct of a fair trial, provided strict safeguards are imposed. The grant of bail in their favour does not reflect any dilution of the seriousness of the allegations, nor does it amount to a finding on guilt. It represents a calibrated exercise of constitutional discretion, structured to preserve both liberty of the individual and security of the nation. 13.....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....associate with or participate in the activities of any group or organization linked to the subject matter of the present FIR/ final report. vii. The appellants shall not make or publish or disseminate any information, statement, article or post whether in print, electronic or social media concerning the present case or its participants till conclusion of the trial. viii. The appellants shall not participate in any programme or address or attend any gathering, rally or meeting, whether physically or virtually till conclusion of the trial. ix. The appellants shall not circulate any post either in electronic form or physical form or circulate any hand bills, posters, banners, etc in any form whatsoever. x. The appellants shall fully cooperate with the trial and shall appear on every date of hearing unless exempted for reasons to be recorded by the Trial Court to its satisfaction and they shall not exhibit any conduct that has the effect of delaying the proceedings. xi. The appellants shall maintain peace and good behaviour throughout and in the event of any offence committed during the pendency of the trial, the prosecution would be at libe....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....sent determination. The Court has not examined the merits of the prosecution case beyond the confines mandated at the stage of consideration of an application seeking bail, nor has it expressed any opinion on the ultimate culpability of any of the accused. All observations are confined to the material presently on record and to the statutory and constitutional standards governing pre-trial liberty under a special enactment. 440. Having regard to the nature of the prosecution and the period of incarceration already undergone, it is considered appropriate to direct that the Trial Court shall proceed with the matter with due expedition and shall endeavour to ensure that the examination of witnesses, particularly the protected witnesses relied upon by the prosecution, is taken up and carried forward without delay. 441. The prosecution shall take all necessary steps to secure the presence of its witnesses on the dates fixed and the parties shall refrain from seeking adjournments except for reasons which are unavoidable. The Trial Court shall be at liberty to regulate the proceedings in accordance with law so as to ensure that the trial is not unnecessarily prolonged, while at the ....