Supreme Court issues notice to Delhi Police on bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and others
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The Supreme Court, on Monday, issued a notice to the Delhi Police on bail petitions filed by student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa-ur-Rehman.
They are accused in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Delhi riots.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria listed the matter for hearing on October 7. Senior Advocates A M Singhvi, Siddharth Dave, and Siddharth Agarwal appeared for the petitioners.
At the start of the hearing, Justice Kumar expressed regret that the case was not heard earlier on September 19. He explained that his former bench colleague, Justice Manmohan, had recused himself due to prior professional associations with Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, who is representing Umar Khalid.
Singhvi pointed out that the petitioners have been in custody for over five years. He requested that notice also be issued on their interim bail applications. Justice Kumar, however, said the Court will take up the main petition itself for disposal.
Kapil Sibal also urged the Court to hear the matter before Diwali, stressing that the petitioners have already spent more than five years in detention.
The bail petitions challenge a Delhi High Court order dated September 2, which rejected the applications. The ruling denied bail to nine accused: Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Athar Khan, Khalid Saifi, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shadab Ahmed.
All have been behind bars for over five years.
The accused were active in protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019–2020. They face charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code, with investigators alleging that they played a central role in planning the February 2020 communal violence in Delhi.
Other accused in the case include Tahir Hussain, Ishrat Jahan, and several others. Some, like Asif Iqbal Tanha, Safoora Zargar, Devangana Kalita, and Natasha Narwal, have already been granted bail.