Imam, Khalid, 8 Others Refused Bail in Delhi Riots Conspiracy Case, 5 Years After Arrest

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, along with eight others, in connection with the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 communal riots in the capital that claimed 53 lives and left over 700 injured.

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

A Division Bench comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur said, "All the appeals are dismissed," as it refused to grant relief to Khalid, Imam, Mohammad Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shadab Ahmed.

In a separate but related ruling, another bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar dismissed the appeal of Tasleem Ahmed, who had challenged a trial court order denying him bail.

The accused were arrested in 2020 under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Police have alleged that Khalid, Imam, and others were "masterminds" of the violence that broke out during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The prosecution claims that the violence was not spontaneous but part of a premeditated conspiracy, orchestrated to coincide with the visit of then-US President Donald Trump.

While rejecting the bail pleas, the bench noted the magnitude of the case and the volume of evidence collected by the police. The chargesheet spans 3,000 pages, accompanied by an additional 30,000 pages of electronic evidence. "The parties have informed this Court that the trial is currently at the stage of hearing arguments on the framing of charges, thus, it indicates that the case is progressing," the judges said. They added that forcing a hurried trial "would be detrimental to the rights of both the appellants and the State."

The accused had sought bail citing delays in trial proceedings, but the court ruled that prolonged incarceration could not be the sole ground for relief in cases involving serious allegations under anti-terror laws.