The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed bail pleas filed by activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and seven others accused in a UAPA case linked to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots.
A division bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur delivered the verdict, stating, “All the appeals are dismissed.” The detailed judgment is awaited.
Those whose bail pleas were rejected include Khalid, Imam, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shadab Ahmed. The accused have been in jail since 2020 after a trial court earlier dismissed their bail applications.
The prosecution argued the riots were not spontaneous but the outcome of a “well-planned conspiracy” aimed at defaming India globally. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that mere prolonged incarceration could not be grounds for bail, adding, “If you do anything against your nation, you better be in jail till you are acquitted.”
Defense counsel countered that Imam was “completely disconnected” from the location, time, and other accused, and that neither his speeches nor WhatsApp chats incited violence.
Khalid, Imam, and others were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly orchestrating the riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The bail pleas of Imam, Saifi, Fatima, and others had been pending in the High Court since 2022. Delhi Police opposed their applications, calling the communal violence a “clinical and pathological conspiracy.” The police alleged that speeches delivered by Khalid, Imam, and co-accused invoked issues like CAA-NRC, Babri Masjid, triple talaq, and Kashmir, thereby creating fear and unrest.
The police further argued that in cases of such grave offences, the principle of “bail is the rule, jail is the exception” cannot be applied, while rejecting any claim that the prosecution was deliberately delaying the trial.
