Delhi 2020 riots case: SC to deliver bail verdict on Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and five others today

The accused had challenged the Delhi High Court’s September 2 order that denied them bail in the case registered under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). (File photo of Umar Khalid)

The Supreme Court, on Monday, is set to deliver its verdict on the bail pleas of activists Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shadab Ahmed, and several others accused in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots case.

The accused had challenged the Delhi High Court’s September 2 order that denied them bail in the case registered under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria will hear the pleas, which were reserved on December 10 after detailed arguments by senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Siddhartha Dave, Salman Khurshid, and Sidharth Luthra for the accused, and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju representing Delhi Police.

Lawyers for the accused argued that their clients have been in custody for over five years without trial, and that there is no concrete evidence linking them to the outbreak of violence.

Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Imam, said, “My client was arrested on January 28, 2020, before the communal violence erupted. His speeches alone cannot constitute criminal conspiracy. To detain someone for over five years without a conviction is deeply prejudicial.”

Also, Imam had himself told the court he was being unfairly “labelled a dangerous intellectual terrorist” without a full trial or conviction.

Delhi Police, strongly opposing bail, had claimed the riots were not spontaneous but a “pre-planned, pan-India conspiracy” aimed at destabilising the state, causing “regime change” and economic disruption. The police also argued that the conspiracy was timed to coincide with the official visit of the then US President to India to draw global attention to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Additional Solicitor General S V Raju told the bench, “Acts of one conspirator can be attributed to others. Sharjeel Imam’s speeches can be attributed to Umar Khalid. Imam’s case will be considered as evidence against the others.” He added that Khalid deliberately planned to leave Delhi before the riots to deflect responsibility.

Police also highlighted the alleged involvement of various WhatsApp groups, including Delhi Protest Support Group (DPSG) and Jamia Awareness Campaign Team, claiming these platforms were used to coordinate the “deep-rooted, premeditated and pre-planned conspiracy,” which led to 53 deaths and large-scale property damage in Delhi alone, resulting in 753 FIRs.

The Delhi High Court had denied bail to Imam, Khalid, and seven others, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Gulfisha Fatima, on September 2, 2025, observing that “prima facie, the role of Imam and Khalid in the conspiracy is grave,” noting that they delivered inflammatory speeches on communal lines to “instigate mass mobilisation of members of the Muslim community.”

Another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, had his bail plea rejected by a separate High Court bench on the same day.

The accused are booked under the UAPA, 1967, and provisions of the Indian Penal Code, accused of being “masterminds” of the riots.

Section 16 of the UAPA states, “Whoever commits a terrorist act shall, if such act has resulted in the death of any person, be punishable with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.” The riots erupted amid widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), leaving 53 dead and over 700 injured.