“Now the trend has become that doctors, engineers are not doing their professions but engaging in anti-national activities,” Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju submitted.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Delhi Police submitted in the Supreme Court on Thursday (November 20, 2025) that qualified doctors and engineers turning to terror rather than pursuing careers has become a “trend”.
The police were making their submissions before a Bench headed by Justice Aravind Kumar during the bail hearings of former JNU student leader Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and other persons accused in the 2020 Delhi riots ‘larger conspiracy’ case.
Delhi riots hearing in Supreme Court: Follow LIVE updates on November 21, 2025
Additional Solicitor General S.V. Raju, for the police, remarked that Mr. Imam was an engineering graduate.
“Now the trend has become that doctors, engineers are not doing their professions but engaging in anti-national activities,” Mr. Raju submitted.
He submitted that “these intellectuals are more dangerous than the ground-level terrorists. They use State subsidies and grants to become doctors only to use their advantages to commit terror acts.”
The police played videos of Mr. Imam speaking at Chakhand, Jamia, Aligarh and Asansol in the years and months before the riots in February 2020.
Justice Kumar asked the law officer whether these speeches were part of the case chargesheet. Mr. Raju confirmed.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, for the petitioners, said the police were playing “micro” snippets from the speeches to prejudice the court against granting his clients bail.
Justice Kumar responded that whether “micro” or “macro”, these were indeed parts of the speeches which form portions in the chargesheet.
Post-lunch, Mr. Raju referred to the videos and submitted they showed Mr. Imam both instigate and provoke the crowd. His topics had ranged from choking Delhi and Assam of essential supplies, the abrogation of Jammu and Kashmir, Babri Masjid demolition and the striking down of triple talaq by the apex court.
“The ultimate intention is regime change. CAA protests were a red-herring. The real purpose was regime change, create economic deprivation and create chaos across the country,” Mr. Raju contended.
The law officer said these speeches had led to violence.
“Fifty-three people died. One policeman died. There was a lynching. Something in the scale of Bangladesh was planned, but it did not happen,” Mr. Raju submitted.
Published – November 21, 2025 12:20 am IST
