Speeches by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others created a sense of fear after a common reference to CAA-NRC, Babri mosque, triple talaq and Kashmir, police argued before the Delhi High Court on Thursday.

Opposing their bail pleas before Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur, police made its submissions in the UAPA case related to the violence which took place in northeast Delhi in February 2020.

"Speeches by Meeran (Haider), Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi and Umar Khalid show a common pattern.. All are on identical lines. They create a sense of fear in the people hearing them..(by talking about) CAA-NRC, Babri, triple talaq and Kashmir," said special public prosecutor Amit Prasad.

He said aside from the speeches, Umar Khalid gave an "objectionable speech in Amravati" which was made "viral" at the relevant time.

He accused Umar Khalid of deliberately travelling outside Delhi at the time when violence erupted in the capital to evade any responsibility.

"There was a concerted plan to remain outside Delhi.. When violence broke out, there was immediate reaction," he said.

Khalid, Imam and others were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the violence, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence erupted during the protests against the CAA and NRC.

While challenging the trial court orders refusing bail, Khalid and others cited their long incarceration and parity with other co-accused who were granted bail.

SPP Prasad also referred to the statements of several protected witnesses to establish the accused persons were not "innocent bystanders" who merely organised protest sites, but planned to cause violence through WhatsApp groups, resulting in registration of 751 FIRs related to the riots.

He alleged the existence of meetings between various accused persons to show "meeting of minds"; the transportation and use of women for stone pelting and strategic management of protest sites by Jamia students.

"Each action was concerted and had a pattern...It is important to appreciate the size of the violence. When we are looking at 'terrorist act', we have to fall within its meaning, whether the city was held to ransom," said Prasad.

Some of then accused played a role in February 2020 and the December 13, 2019, violence, he said.

Prasad reiterated the accused in the present batch of cases could not claim any parity with those accused who were granted bail by the high court in 2021 on account of the Supreme Court's order clarifying it would not be treated as a precedent.

The matter would be heard on January 21.

Prasad, in the meantime, was directed to prepare a short note of his submissions to explain the alleged conspiracy and other allegations.

Most bail pleas, including the ones by Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Khalid Saifi, were filed in 2022, and heard by different benches from time to time.

Khalid moved the high court in 2024 seeking bail for the second time, after his plea was dismissed by the high court in October, 2022.

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