Police cite chats, speeches to deny bail for accused

The Delhi Police told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the public narrative supporting 2020 Delhi riots accused Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, and others is “far from reality,” contending that evidence reveals a “pre-planned” and “choreographed” conspiracy to communally divide India.

- Abraham Thomas

Opposing the bail pleas of Imam, Khalid, and five others, the police argued there was no “change in circumstance” since the Delhi High Court rejected their bail in September. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the police, sought to dismantle the defense’s public narrative. “A narrative is being built that these so-called intellectuals merely protested and exercised their fundamental right. First, let this myth be busted. This was not a spontaneous agitation. Speech after speech and chat after chat shows a discernible attempt to divide society on communal lines,” Mehta told the bench of justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria.