Delhi riots 'did not take place in a spur of the moment': HC

'The systematic disconnection and destruction of the CCTV cameras also confirm the existence of a pre-planned and premeditated conspiracy to disturb law and order in the city. This is also evident from the fact that innumerable rioters ruthlessly descended with sticks, dandas, bats, etc upon a hopelessly outnumbered cohort of police officials.'

New Delhi:The Northeast Delhi riots "did not take place in a spur of the moment" and that the conduct of protesters as per videos visibly portrays that it was a calculated attempt, said the Delhi High Court in a bail order on Monday.

Justice Subramonium Prasad in an order, while denying bail to an accused who was arrested last year by Delhi Police for allegedly being part of anti-CAA protests during which Head Constable Ratan Lal sustained fatal injuries, observed, "The systematic disconnection and destruction of the CCTV cameras also confirm the existence of a pre-planned and premeditated conspiracy to disturb law and order in the city. This is also evident from the fact that innumerable rioters ruthlessly descended with sticks, dandas, bats, etc upon a hopelessly outnumbered cohort of police officials."

Mohd Ibrahim, the accused was holding a sword during the protest. His counsel had argued that Lal’s death was not caused by the sword and that Ibrahim carried the sword only to protect himself and his family to which the court said that the accused’s incarceration as the weapon carried by him “is capable of causing grievous injuries and/or death, and is prima facie a dangerous weapon”.

Justice Prasad further said, “This Court is of the opinion that even though the Petitioner cannot be seen at the scene of the crime, he clearly was a part of the mob for the sole reason that the petitioner had consciously travelled 1.6 km away from his neighbourhood with a sword which could only be used to incite violence and inflict damage."

On September 8, Justice Prasad had granted bail to five accused and observed that “the sole act of protesting” cannot be used as “a weapon to justify the incarceration” of those exercising this right.

In the order passed on Monday, the court said, “This Court has previously opined on the importance of personal liberty in a democratic polity, but it is to be categorically noted that individual liberty cannot be misused in a manner that threatens the very fabric of civilised society by attempting to destabilise it and cause hurt to other persons."

The court has denied bail to three accused in the case and ordered the release of eight, including one Mohd Saleem Khan who was granted bail on Monday after 17 months of incarceration.

It may be recalled that on February 23, 2020, riots broke out in Northeast Delhi between Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and pro-CAA protestors. The violence took a communal turn and led to the death of over 53 people, more than 200 were left injured over the course of next 10 days. The dead also included a policeman and an intelligence officer.

More than a week after the violence had ended, hundreds of wounded languished in inadequately staffed medical facilities and corpses were being found in open drains. Shops and houses were burnt down and even places of worship were raged.

The anti-CAA protests began in Delhi and other parts of the country in December 2019 in response to the passage of the Citizenship Bill, which paved the way for grant of citizenship to Hindu, Sikhs, Parsis, Jains, Buddhists and Christians who took refuge in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in or before December 2014.

The Act was seen by protestors as discriminatory to Muslims and threatening to their existence in India when combined with the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Demonstrations were held in Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Aligarh, Bengaluru, Kolkata and other parts of the country.