SC refuses to entertain bail plea of activist

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain the plea of student activist Gulfisha Fatima seeking bail in a case of "larger conspiracy" behind the North East Delhi riots of February 2020, and asked the Delhi High Court to consider her plea on November 25.

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma noted that she has been in custody for four years and 7 months in the case.

The bench said her petition for bail, which is pending before the high court, should be heard on November 25 unless there are some extraordinary circumstances. The top court told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Fatima, that the high court has not been hearing her case and the matter is being adjourned on one pretext or another.

He said the high court adjourned the matter 24 times as the presiding judge was on leave and six times the matter was adjourned for other reasons. "This is a question of liberty. Her case is being adjourned on one pretext or other. She has been in jail for four years and seven months and her case is pending before the high court for two years now,” Sibal said.

The bench said that proper procedure needs to be followed and it cannot entertain Article 32 petition filed by Fatima. Fatima, along with several others, has been booked under the anti-terror law -- Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) -- in the case for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the riots which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.