New Delhi, February 11 The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from the Delhi Police on the bail plea of Tasleem Ahmed, who is accused in the "larger conspiracy" case related to the February 2020 riots.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P B Varale issued a notice on a plea filed by Ahmed challenging an order by the Delhi High Court.
The high court had dismissed Ahmed's bail plea on September 2 last year, stating that "delay in trial" cannot be the sole basis for consideration.
It had stated that bail cannot be granted solely on the basis of long imprisonment or delay in trial, except in cases of a clear violation of fundamental rights or a breach of constitutional rights.
The HC had also said that those accused who have been granted bail in the case were "delaying arguments" at the expense of those accused who are in prison.
Besides Ahmed, activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, and several others, were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots in Delhi, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The violence erupted during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).