Supreme Court rejects bail plea of accused in 2020 Bengaluru riots case

The Supreme Court on 28^th February rejected bail plea of a retired engineer and others, including members of Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI)and Popular Front of India (PFI), facing charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their alleged involvement in 2020 Bengaluru riots.

A Bench of Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and Vikram Nath said at this juncture, when the trial was still pending, the Court was not inclined to consider any relief to 68-year-old retired engineer Mohammed Kaleem Ahmed and others.

Senior Adv. Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Ahmed, said that the petitioner had already been in custody for 14 months and he was not named in original FIR but was made an accused after the National Investigation Agency took the charge. The case was triggered due to political cat fight after a social media post, he pointed out.

The Bench said it has gone through the case details. It added that the High Court has passed the detailed order, there were charges under the UAPA, besides other penal provisions.

Supreme Court rejects bail to 2020 Bengaluru riot-accused Mohammed Kaleem and 5 others: Detailshttps://t.co/kTH6VNloBA

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“We can’t have a society like this. This is apart from all other … there is the UAPA, and damages to public properties”, the Bench said.

The violence in Bengaluru on 12^th August 2020 had claimed 4 lives. The case related to offences under the UAPA, the IPC, as well as the Karnataka Prevention of Destruction and Loss of Property Act, 1981, and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.