Delhi Riots Case: Supreme Court Denies Bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam
SC grants bail to five other accused but keeps Khalid and Imam in custody under UAPA amid prima facie allegations
New Delhi, Jan 5: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, citing prima facie evidence against them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria observed that the prosecution material met the statutory threshold for Khalid and Imam, and that the stage of proceedings did not warrant their release.
However, the court granted bail to five other accused Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad in the same case.
Background of the case
The accused were booked under UAPA and other provisions of the erstwhile IPC for allegedly being the “masterminds” behind the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. The violence erupted amid protests over the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The Supreme Court had reserved its verdict on December 10 after hearing arguments from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the Delhi Police, and senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Siddhartha Dave, Salman Khurshid, and Sidharth Luthra, representing the accused.
The petitioners had challenged a Delhi High Court order of September 2, 2025, which had denied them bail in the so-called “larger conspiracy” case related to the riots.
