2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case: For how long can a person be kept in jail? asks Delhi HC as accused claims delay in trial

Indian Express

12 hours ago

For how long can a person be kept in jail? A Delhi High Court bench orally remarked on Tuesday as it heard the bail plea of one of the accused in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. The High Court noted that 'five years have gone by', and yet the arguments on the charge remain to be completed.
The court was hearing the plea by Tasleem Ahmed, the owner of a coaching centre and a resident of South Delhi's Sangam Vihar. He was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell in June 2020 under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
A trial court had refused his bail plea last February, even as Ahmed had sought relief on the grounds of parity, given that three other accused in the same case — Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Tanha Iqbal — were granted bail.
Taken up by a bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar on Tuesday, advocate Mehmood Pracha, appearing for Ahmed, cited a delay in trial for seeking bail. Ahmed has already spent five years in jail, the counsel highlighted.
After Ahmed's counsel pointed out that he has not delayed the trial and that he also completed his arguments on the charges in 10-15 minutes within a day, the bench, addressing Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, inquired orally, 'Five years have gone…even arguments on the charge is not completed..With 700 witnesses, (for) how much time can a person be kept inside?'
The court is due to hear the matter further on Wednesday.
Earlier in January, another two-judge division bench of the High Court, while dealing with a bunch of bail pleas of the accused, including student activists Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, and others, the bench had orally inquired from the prosecution if only setting up a protest site is enough cause for attracting offences under UAPA.
Apart from Ahmed, bail pleas of eight other accused, who have sought bail in the larger conspiracy case, are before the Delhi High Court.
They are facing allegations of a pre-planned conspiracy to allegedly cause riots in Northeast Delhi between February 23 and February 25 in 2020.
The accused have been booked for offences under the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, Arms Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and have been in jail for over five years now.