Delhi riots case: Supreme Court adjourns bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam to September 19

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned to September 19 the hearing on the bail pleas of student activist Sharjeel Imam, former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scholar Umar Khalid, and others in the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots.

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria said they had been unable to examine the case records as the files reached them only after midnight. “We received the files in these matters at 2.30 a.m.,” the Bench observed while deferring the proceedings by a week.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for Mr. Imam, while senior advocate Kapil Sibal represented Mr. Khalid. “Four matters are listed before the court today, all of them arising from the same High Court judgment,” Mr. Sibal submitted.

The petitions challenge the September 2 verdict of the Delhi High Court denying bail. A Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur (since retired) had held that the accused played “prima facie grave” roles in the conspiracy.

Besides Mr. Imam and Mr. Khalid, the High Court had denied bail to student activist Gulfisha Fatima, United Against Hate founder Khalid Saifi, Athar Khan, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Meeran Haider, and Shadab Ahmed, accepting the prosecution’s contention that the riots were not “a regular protest” but a “premeditated, well-orchestrated conspiracy.” Appeals by Ms. Fatima and Mr. Haider were also heard by the same Bench.

Separately, the bail plea of another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, was rejected by a different High Court Bench on September 2.

The accused face charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code. The Delhi Police, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, have argued that the activists were the “masterminds” of the violence, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The riots broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens.

In its verdict, the High Court said, “If the exercise of an unfettered right to protest were permitted, it would damage the constitutional framework and impinge upon law and order. Conspiratorial violence under the garb of protests cannot be permitted.” It also noted that the riots were “deliberately timed” to coincide with the visit of U.S. President Donald Trump and therefore could not be “lightly brushed aside.”

‘Delay in trial’

Mr. Imam, arrested on January 28, 2020, has argued in his plea that he has spent over five and a half years in custody. Mr. Khalid, arrested on September 13, 2020, has also sought bail citing prolonged incarceration. Both contend that their continued detention is the result of systemic delays in the trial.

They argue that extended pre-trial custody violates established rulings affirming an undertrial’s right to liberty. Their lawyers have also sought bail on grounds of parity with co-accused already released. Student activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha were granted bail in June 2021, while former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan was released in March 2022.