Delhi Riots Case: SC Refuses Bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, Grants Bail to Five Others

PTI, New Delhi, Jan 5, 2026: The Supreme Court on Monday refused bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case but granted it to five others, citing the "hierarchy of participation" and stating that all accused in the case do not stand on the same footing.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria observed that there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Imam under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). While the two will remain in jail, activists Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad have been granted bail.

The court allowed Khalid and Imam to file fresh bail applications after the examination of protected witnesses or after one year from today. The two were deemed to stand on "qualitatively different footing" as compared to the other accused.

The prosecution, the bench stated, had prima facie disclosed "a central and formative role" and "involvement in the level of planning, mobilisation, and strategic direction extending beyond episodic and localised acts."

The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi resulted in 53 deaths and more than 700 injuries.

According to the court, the delay in trial does not operate as a "trump card" that automatically displaces statutory safeguards. "All the appellants do not stand on equal footing as regards culpability. The hierarchy of participation emerging from the prosecution's case requires the court to examine each application individually," the bench said, adding that the roles attributed to the accused are different.

"This court is satisfied that the prosecution material disclosed a prima facie allegation against the appellants Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam... This stage of proceedings does not justify their enlargement on bail," the apex court said.

Directing the trial court to expedite the process of bail, the bench imposed 12 conditions and stated that any misuse of liberty would lead to the cancellation of bail.

"Right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution requires the State to justify prolonged pre-trial custody," the bench remarked.

The top court added that while bail in UAPA cases is not granted as a matter of routine, the law does not mandate the automatic denial of bail. It also does not exclude the court's jurisdiction to allow bail.

All seven accused were booked under the stringent anti-terror UAPA and provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the riots.

According to Section 16 of the UAPA, "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 violence erupted during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The accused moved the apex court, challenging the Delhi High Court's September 2 order denying them bail in the larger conspiracy case of the February 2020 riots.