The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to Delhi Police on the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, and Meeran Haider in the UAPA case linked to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria has posted the matter for hearing on October 7.
The activists have challenged the September 2 Delhi High Court order that denied bail to nine accused, including Khalid and Imam, observing that “conspiratorial” violence under the guise of protests cannot be permitted. Alongside them, Gulfisha Fatima, Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Shadab Ahmed were also denied bail. Another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, faced a similar rejection by a separate high court bench on the same date.
The high court held that while the Constitution protects peaceful protests and free speech under Article 19(1)(a), these rights are not absolute and remain subject to reasonable restrictions. The order stated that unfettered protests could harm the constitutional framework and disturb law and order.
Khalid, Imam, and others were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly masterminding the riots, which erupted during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The 2020 violence left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The accused, who have consistently denied the charges, have been in jail since 2020 and moved the high court after a trial court rejected their bail pleas.
