SOURCE: ONE INDIA
Acts that threaten the unity and integrity of India, in as much as causing social disharmony and creating terror in any section of the people, by making them feel surrounded resulting in violence is also a terrorist act, a Delhi court has said.
The observations were made while rejecting the bail application of a 27 year old student Asif Iqbal Tanha of the Jamia Millia Islamia in connection with the Delhi riots case. The police accused Tanha of conspiring with former JNU student, Umar Khalid to overthrow the government by setting up a chakka jam (road block) in Muslim dominated areas.
Tanha has also been accused of using fake documents to buy a mobile phone SIM to be used in the riots.
Additional Sessions Judge, Amitabh Rawat said, the entire conspiracy beginning from December 2019 of intentionally blocking roads and causing disrupting of the supplies of services, resulting in violence with various means and then leading to the February incident with the focus being targeted at blocking of roads at mixed population areas and creating panic and attack on the police personnel with facade of women protesters in front and leading to riots would be covered by the definition of a terrorist act.
The judge also said that conspiracy has be read as a whole and not piecemeal. The question of the presence of the accused at the sire in North-East Delhi at the time of the riots is not a sine qua non for a conspiracy case. Hence the provisions of the UAPA have been rightly invoked in the instant case.
On the right to protest, the court that there is a right to do so, but that is subject to reasonable restrictions. There is also no manner of doubt that every citizen can hold an opinion about any legislation which they construe unfair in their understanding and all citizens have the right to protest against any law.
However, what actually has to be seen in the context of the present case is whether there was a conspiracy which led to the riots under the guise of a protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) or not, in terms of the contents of the chargesheet.
