NEW DELHI: Any “conspiratorial violence” under the guise of freedom of speech of citizens cannot be allowed, Delhi High Court said on Tuesday while declining bail to nine persons, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, in the “larger conspiracy” case of the Feb 2020 Delhi riots.“Such actions must be regulated and checked by the state machinery as they do not fall within the ambit of freedom of speech, expression and association,” the bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur added, while dealing with a key argument of the accused on the right to free speech and protests.In its order disposing of appeals pending since 2022, the high court highlighted that the Constitution affords citizens the right to protest and carry out demonstrations, “provided they are orderly, peaceful and without arms, and such actions must be within the bounds of law.”

It said that the right to peaceful protest and to make speeches in public was protected under Article 19 and couldn’t be blatantly curtailed, but the right was “not absolute” and it is subject to reasonable restrictions. “If the exercise of an unfettered right to protest were permitted, it would damage the constitutional framework and impinge upon the law-and-order situation,” the high court bench said.“The citizens have a fundamental right to voice their concerns against the legislative actions, which only fortifies the democratic setup by indicating the participation of the citizens in governance,” the bench said. “This right is crucial, as it enables the citizens to express their dissent, expose flaws in governance, and demand accountability from the state authorities. However, such actions must be within the bounds of law,” the court added.

On the delay in trial — besides the time the accused spent behind bars, which was stated as a reason for bail — the court made it clear that these grounds were not “universally applicable” and factors such as the interest and safety of society at large also ought to be factored in while giving a judgment. The judges rejected the plea for parity with other co-accused persons — namely, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Devangana Kalita, and Natasha Narwal —- who have been granted bail earlier.“We may note that in a case of conspiracy, it is not necessary that all the accused persons must be involved in all facets of the criminality,” the court noted. The court said the roles of the accused were different from Kalita and Narwal.