Student activist Safoora Zargar, accused in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Northeast Delhi violence, appeared before a Delhi court on Tuesday seeking discharge from charges filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Zargar, currently out on bail, presented her arguments through her counsel, Advocate Shahrukh Alam, before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai at the Karkardooma Courts complex.
Her legal team strongly argued that the allegations against her stem from her participation in peaceful protest activities, which are protected under constitutional rights.
Advocate Alam contended that political protest does not constitute an unlawful act, and merely embarrassing or criticizing the government does not amount to committing a terrorist offence.
She emphasized that dissent is a cornerstone of democracy, and criminalizing it under stringent laws like the UAPA undermines fundamental freedoms.
Zargar was arrested in April 2020 and later granted bail on humanitarian grounds, as she was pregnant at the time.
Zargar, an M.Phil. student at Jamia Millia Islamia and a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee, was arrested by the Delhi Police under UAPA charges in connection with the Northeast Delhi violence case on April 10.
Police accused the anti-CAA activists of being key “conspirators” of the pogrom, which is widely acknowledged to have been sparked by incendiary comments made by Kapil Mishra, a BJP leader, about Muslims peacefully protesting against the ‘anti-Muslim and unconstitutional’ citizenship law.
Video evidence and witness accounts pointed to police allowing Hindu mobs to roam the streets freely to target the Muslim community.
The case is being investigated by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.
Along with Zargar, Jamia student leaders Meeran Haider and Asif Iqbal Tanha, Jawaharlal Nehru University students and Pinjra Tod activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, former Delhi Municipal Councillor Ishrat Jahan, Gulfisha, an MBA student and a coordinator of the women-led sit-in in Seelampur-Jafrabad against the CAA, the president of the Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI) Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Aam Aadmi Party leader Tahir Hussain, and United Against Hate activist Khalid Saifi were also arrested under the same charges in the case.
The court is currently hearing arguments on the discharge applications filed by multiple accused in the case.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com.
