SC denies bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam; grants relief to 5 others in Delhi violence case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi violence, holding that a prima facie case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act had been made out against them.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria, however, granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad in the same case.

The court said the material placed by the prosecution disclosed prima facie allegations against Khalid and Imam, attracting the statutory bar on bail under UAPA. “At this stage of the proceedings, their release on bail is not justified,” the bench observed.

The verdict was reserved on December 10 after the court heard arguments from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju for the Delhi Police, and senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Siddhartha Dave, Salman Khurshid and Sidharth Luthra for the accused.

Khalid, Imam and others were charged under UAPA and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being “masterminds” of the February 2020 violence in northeast Delhi, which claimed 53 lives and left over 700 people injured. The violence broke out amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens.

The accused had approached the apex court challenging a September 2 Delhi High Court order that denied them bail in the larger conspiracy case related to the riots.