[Delhi Riots 2020] Delhi HC Special Bench agrees to hear batch of appeals in larger conspiracy case

The Delhi High Court on Monday agreed to hear a batch of bail appeals related to the north-east Delhi riots of 2020 accused of larger conspiracy cases.

A Special bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar said, “We’ll hear you for a while today and then adjourn the matter to Friday to adjust our roaster.”

During the hearing today, Senior Advocate Rebecca John appearing for Khalid Saifi submitted that he runs a travel agency and a trust, and stated that it’s undisputed that he was protesting at the Khajuri Khas and thereafter he was arrested. John also submitted that he was part of the DPSG WhatsApp group, and contended that the investigating agency cannot just rely on the chats of the groups against him.

The Senior Counsel further submitted that a pledge was taken by all the members of the group against the CAA-NRC and argued that nothing at all was “seditious” in it.

After hearing the counsel, the court adjourned the matter for Friday, i.e. November 25, and also directed the Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad to file a digital copy of the subject charge sheet.

Last Friday, taking note that a half-dozen of appeals were listed before the bench, Justice Siddharth Mridul had said, “We are going to have difficulty hearing 6-7 appeals, it’s a special bench, and we assemble every Friday only. This can’t be done Friday to Friday, We have never heard these appeals, these appeals were just tagged along, and the arguments have not been heard yet.”

Justice Mridul had also said that he did not want to curtail any of the appellants in the case.

On Friday, the senior counsel for Saifi had given a brief on him, stating that in the present case he is alleged to be an organizer in Khajuri Khas during the Delhi Riots 2020. She had also informed the court that three FIRs have been registered against him, and he is on bail in two of them.

In July this year, a division bench of Justice Mukta Gupta and Justice Anish Dayal listed Khalid Saifi's bail appeal before the Special Bench for hearing. Earlier Trial Court's Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat dismissed Saifi's bail plea stating that the allegations against him seemed prima facie true.

Case Title: Abdul Khalid Saifi v. State and other connected matters