SC rejects bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam in Delhi riots case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the “larger conspiracy” case linked to the February 2020 Delhi riots, holding that the two stand on a “qualitatively different footing” compared to the other accused.

In the same verdict, a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad, who are also accused in the case.

Khalid, Imam and the other accused have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and IPC provisions in the case in which Delhi Police has alleged a larger conspiracy behind the communal violence in northeast Delhi in 2020. The riots left 53 people dead and over 700 injured, and broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed NRC. 

The bail pleas before the Supreme Court challenged the Delhi High Court’s September 2, 2025 order declining bail to the accused in the conspiracy case. 

The top court had reserved its verdict in December 2025 after hearing arguments from the prosecution and the accused. 

Details of the operative conditions attached to the bail granted to the five accused were not immediately available at the time of filing.