No bail for Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam as Supreme Court denies relief

In a hand-written note to Umar Khalid, New York City’s newly sworn-in mayor, Zohran Mamdani, said he often thinks about the jailed former JNU student leader’s thoughts on bitterness.

• Supreme Court denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in Delhi riots case
• Five other accused granted bail by the Supreme Court
• Khalid and Imam remain in custody since 2020 over UAPA charges

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The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the bail plea of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who are booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 Delhi Riots larger conspiracy case.

"On completion of examination of protected witnesses or completion of one year from this order these Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam may be at liberty to move an application for grant of bail," the top court said.

The top court, however, granted bail to the other five persons accused in the matter: Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammad Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria  pronounced the verdict.

The top court bench ruled that Khalid and Imam “stand on a qualitatively different footing" from several other accused, noting that the statutory threshold under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA stands attracted in their case. The court said it was satisfied that the prosecution material disclosed their “prima facie roles… to the extent of planning and organisation", and therefore, at this stage, did not justify their enlargement on bail.

According to the to court, offences concerning national security require a distinct bail framework.  The bench observed, “Offences regarding security of the nation require a different bail regime under the Act." It added that if prosecution allegations are found to be prima facie true, “incarceration prevails", but if they do not meet the threshold, bail should follow.

The court said it was satisfied that the prosecution material disclosed their “prima facie roles to the extent of planning and organisation", and therefore, at this stage, did not justify their enlargement on bail.

Meanwhile,  Delhi Police have said the offences they committed involved a deliberate attempt to destabilise the state, and cannot be termed "spontaneous protests". They launched a well-orchestrated "pan-India" conspiracy aiming at "regime change" and "economic strangulation", the police have said.

A Bench headed by Justice Aravind Kumar had reserved its verdict in December 2025 on separate special leave petitions filed by the accused persons against a September 2 decision of the Delhi High Court denying them bail.

In a hand-written note to Umar Khalid, New York City’s newly sworn-in mayor, Zohran Mamdani, recently said he often thinks about the jailed former JNU student leader’s thoughts on bitterness. The note, addressed “Dear Umar,” was delivered to Khalid’s parents during their visit to the United States in December 2025.

Khalid has been in custody since September 13, 2020, while Imam has been prisoned since January 28, 2020, weeks before the Delhi riots broke out.  Theriots took place in February  2020 in parts of Northeast Delhi, following weeks of tension around protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA). The violence, which lasted several days, led to the several deaths, along with large-scale damage to homes, shops, and places of worship.

The accused moved the apex court challenging a Delhi High Court order dated September 2 denying them bail in the "larger conspiracy" case of the February 2020 riots.