SC denies bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam in Delhi riots case

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, citing evidence of a criminal conspiracy in the Delhi riots case. The court observed that there are strong evidences against the accused. The court had granted bail to other five accused in the case. Bail was granted to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed.

The verdict was delivered by a bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria. The court noted that the delay in the trial is not a reason for bail as it is a case related to UAPA. The court said the role of each accused in the case will be heard separately and what they did was terrorism. The verdict was given while considering the appeal filed by the accused against the Delhi High Court order denying bail. The accused have been in custody for more than five years. The case is that they conspired to riot during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2020.

On February 24, 2020, riots broke out in northeast Delhi during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). It lasted for several days. More than 50 people died and over 700 were injured. The list of 20 people, including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councilor Tahir Hussain, includes those who hatched a grand conspiracy to incite riots.