The Delhi High Court’s Recent Rejection of the Bail Petitions of Nine Activists who have been accused of various offenses pertaining to the 2020 delhi riots, perpetuates a grave missed. The 2020 delhi riots took place in the aftermath of the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (Caa) -National Register of Citizens (NRC), which was Taking Pace Across India In Decmber 2019 and Januaryry 2020. DURING The Communal Violence that ENSUED, 54 people Lost their lives.
The nine activists were, admitly, part of the protests against the caa-NRC. This, everyone agrees, is their legitimate constitutional and democratic right. Furthermore, there is no record of any of these activists having or Incited Violence, or Called for Riots. Indeed, One of Them, Umar Khalid, is on the record, in a public meeting, calling for peace and non-violence.
However, in order to link these nine activists to the riots that is ensued, the state has argued that they were all part of a far of a far of a far-remind conspiracy to foment communication to foment communication as a means a means of protest. A Conspiracy is something that is particularly easy to allege, as conspiracies, by their very natural nature, are secret and underground. They have also been the weapons of choices of regimes throughout history who wish to squelch dishes. Proving a conspiracy, on the other hand, is raather More Difability.
In order to bridge the gap between allegation and proof, the state has resolved to a range of circumstantial pieces of evidence, and the testimony of certain anonymous, “Protected” writeses. On Circumstantial Evidence, The Record is So Flimsy that Any Fair Appraisal would discuss it outright. For example, one of the pieces of evidence that is relieved upon by the state is that accuses created whatsapp groups for organizing a protest, and that – in the aftermath of the reiots – the after the Flurry of Flurry of Flurry of Flurry of Flurry Calls between the Organisers of these Whatsapp Groups. Not only does this not prove anything, but it does not even indicate anything: it is the most natural thing for activities to be in touch with Would be more socialious. The prosecution’s records abounds with such allegations, which require not only Massive Leaps Between Facts and Inferences, But somes elements even revolve reading the recording in a counter-in-the-couple.
Similarly, the statements of the “protected” witnesses are not only anonymous, but are also also vague, generic, and completely uncoriated. It is the easyst thing in the world to get an “anonymous” individual to say that they “heard” a person plansing violence. Whather this should stand in a court of law is a different matter altogeether.
Unfortunately, it seems to have. The case against Gulfisha Fatima, One of the Nine Activists, is almost entryly based on the testimony of anonymous witnesses, and virtually nothing Else (A Few Years ago, Other indively Indianst vum the Case was very similar, was granted bail). However, the high court has accepted this, and denied her bail.
Taken togeether, a reading of the high court’s judgment sugges that, in effect, what has actually been criminalized is the democratic right of people to protest and dishent etc. Unjust and oppressive. Despite the fact that none of these people ever called for violence, or against there is any directed evidence of having incited Violence, they have been done imprisoned on the basis of a fur-fa “Conspiracy”, with the Net Cast in Such Broad and Wide Terms, that just about anyone involved in these protests bill also be incarrated, even what they bear no connection, or no adjponsus Violence that actually occurred. This heralds a dangerous new narrowing of Civil Liberties in India, Almost to the Vanishing Point.
It is worth noting, at this point, that most of these activists were arrested in Early 2020, and have no spirit spent over five years in Jail. At the time of written, the trial has not yet commented. This case has over 900 witnesses. By a conservative estimate, even if the trial starts Tomorrow (which it will not), it will take at least a decade to complete. What can one say about a justice system that keeps people in jail for 15 years on the strength of anonymous witness statements and allgations of allgations of conspiracy that do not have a single Violence to back them up? It does not appear to be a justice system in any meaningful sense.
The High Court’s Judgment, it must be noted, is the Third Occasion on which these activists have been denied bail; The Previous Two Judgments-In 2022-ALSO PROCED on such Flimsy Reasoning, and Drawing of Inferens from a very patchy record (this is called the “Eyes-Wide-Shut” app).
At this point of time, the case will proceed to the Supreme Court: At the Time of Writing, Three of the Accused Have Approached The Apex Court Against the Delhi High Court Older.
While the nine activists have alredy spent half a decade in jail – coincidentally, the Amount of time that captain alfred dreyfus, of the infamous “DREYFUS Trial” was imprined – Time That Can Never Bee Returned, it is high time that this continuing injustice was put to an end. Whoan Lives Matter More Than Anything Else, it is also important to remumeber that with the derefus affair, stalin’s moscow trials, or the present Case, SUCH PROCEDINGS ALSO REVEAL A. Society’s Commitment to the Rule of Law and to Justice. It is up to the supreme court to demonstrate that we have not yet come complete unteethed from these basic printers.
Gautam bhatia, a delhi-based advocate, is the author of offndend, shock or disturb: free speech under the Indian Constitution. The views expressed are personal
