The Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to Athar Khan, one of the accused in the Delhi riots conspiracy case.
A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain said that Khan's role in causing the death of people was prima facie established and that he is a flight risk.The Court held that the evidence against Khan, including chats recovered from co-accused Ovais Sultan Khan and the statement of protected witness "Pluto", established his role as a key conspirator in the violence.
It observed that Khan consistently pushed for violent protests, including causing deaths, despite others urging non-violent demonstrations.
"Releasing the Appellant [Khan] on bail at this stage would in effect mean that he could also threaten witnesses and could cause disruption in the trial as well. Despite his team mates repeatedly asking him not to engage in violence, the Appellant refused to obey the same. The Appellant, therefore, cannot be held to be a mere local-level operator but one of the main conspirators who conspired to cause deaths during the riots. Thus, the case of the Appellant is clearly distinguishable from the other co-accused persons," the Bench said.
It further held that Khan not only failed to meet the stringent bail threshold under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA but also the normal conditions of bail. Khan's lawyer had argued that the WhatsApp chats showed that their plan was to conduct non-violent protests.
They added that, at best, Khan was a local-level facilitator for the protests, with no power of decision-making.Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for Delhi Police, opposed the bail plea."His (Khan's) role can be compared with Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. He has said that 100-150 people should be killed. There are WhatsApp chats. He would not fit into a sidekick or peripheral role. His role is on a different footing. He falls in the first category under Gulfisha judgment (the category of Delhi riots accused who are alleged to have played a serious role) and not entitled to bail," Raju said.
The Delhi riots case concerns the communal rioting that happened in North-East Delhi in 2020 and led to death of more than 50 people. The riots took place amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019. Several persons were arrested on allegations that the conspired to trigger the riots, including Athar Khan. The prosecution has invoked the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in the case.A sessions court denied Khan bail on January 29 prompting him to approach the High Court for relief.
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