The Delhi High Court on Tuesday declined bail to Tasleem Ahmed, an accused in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots “larger conspiracy” case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, with a division bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar announcing in open court that his “appeal is dismissed,” while a detailed order is awaited. The ruling came as a separate bench led by Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur prepared verdicts on the bail petitions of nine other accused tied to the same conspiracy case, underscoring parallel proceedings within the High Court on multiple connected appeals.
Case background
- Ahmed was first arrested in April 2020 in a separate matter and was subsequently taken into custody by the Delhi Police Special Cell in June 2020 in the broader conspiracy case linked to the riots, according to case records and court proceedings reported by national outlets and agencies.
- The alleged conspiracy case stems from FIR 59/2020, with the investigation handled by the Special Cell after the Delhi Crime Branch initially registered an FIR in March 2020 following violence that left at least 53 dead and hundreds injured in Northeast Delhi between February 23 and 25, 2020, as widely documented by courts and media reports.
Allegations and legal framework
- Eighteen accused are charged with participating in a premeditated plan to incite violence, with offences invoked under the IPC, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the Arms Act, and the UAPA, per investigative summaries and court filings cited in media reports.
- The Special Cell’s case contends the unrest was the outcome of a months-long, “deep-rooted” plot formed after the Citizenship Amendment Bill was cleared by the Cabinet in December 2019, alleging the setup of 23 round-the-clock protest sites in Muslim-majority localities near mosques and arterial roads as part of the plan, as reported by multiple news outlets carrying agency inputs.
Prior and parallel bail outcomes
- Among those previously granted bail are activist Safoora Zargar (June 2020), Faizan (October 2020), and three activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha who secured bail in June 2021 from the Delhi High Court, alongside former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan in March 2022, according to press coverage of court orders.
- The High Court in April 2024 denied bail to accused Saleem Malik, while former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain continues in custody in the same case, as recorded in case timelines covered by legal and mainstream media.
Developments on related appeals
- In coordinated proceedings, a separate bench on Tuesday also rejected the bail pleas of nine other accused including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Khalid Saifi, Athar Khan, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa ur Rehman, Meeran Haider, and Shadab Ahmed stating “all the appeals are dismissed,” with the orders following earlier hearings reserved in July, per court reporting with agency inputs.
- Prosecutors argued in these matters that the 2020 violence was not spontaneous but a “well planned,” “well orchestrated” conspiracy designed to create communal fissures and embarrass the country, while the defence highlighted prolonged incarceration and parity with co-accused who received bail earlier, as reflected in courtroom coverage by national media.
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