A court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of an accused, arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in a 2020 northeast Delhi riots case, saying reasonable grounds existed for believing that the charges against him were prima facie true. The court was hearing the bail plea of Saleem Malik, arrested for allegedly being part of a premeditated conspiracy in the riots.
Thus, on the perusal of the charge sheet and accompanying documents, for the limited purpose of the bail, I am of the opinion that the allegations against the accused Saleem Malik are prima facie true, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat said. The judge said “since there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusations against the accused Saleem Malik are prima facie true, hence, the embargo created by the relevant sections of the UAPA and the code of criminal procedure applied for the grant of bail.
Hence, the present application for bail of accused Saleem Malik stands dismissed, the judge said. The court also said that the accused was one of the organisers of the Chand Bagh protest site where inflammatory speeches were given and it was supported by the statements of various witnesses, which showed “sufficient incriminating material against the accused.” At the present stage of hearing the bail plea, the statements of all the witnesses had to be taken at face value and their veracity would be tested at the time of cross-examination, the court said.
The court noted that the CCTV footage filed by the prosecution showed a concerted and premeditated effort of mobilisation of rioters who were armed and ultimately blocked the main Wazirabad road and attacked police personnel in the most brutal manner. “It is also a fact that the riots occurred in Delhi in February 2020 and entailed the loss of lives of 53 victims, including police officials, and a huge-scale destruction of public property and disruption of essential services,” the court said.
“From the riots that ultimately ensued, it can easily be said that it was not a sudden act but a thought-out premeditated act,” it added. In the present case, according to the charge sheet, taken at face value, there was a premeditated conspiracy of the disruptive chakka jam and a preplanned protest at 23 different planned sites in Delhi which was to escalate to confrontation and incitement to violence, resulting in riots, the court said.
At the time of the riots, the accused Saleem was present in northeast Delhi and connected with other accused people, the court said. According to the charge sheet, the accused took part in the conspiracy and it is not necessary that every accused should play a part in every aspect of the conspiracy, the court said.
The Crime Branch had filed a charge sheet against the accused under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including rioting and murder, and under the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act and Arms Act.
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