The Supreme Court on Monday denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in a case pertaining to an alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots. However, the SC granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad.

Shifa Ur Rehman's wife welcomed the verdict and thanked the legal team for their efforts.

"We welcome the judgement of the Supreme Court and thank the lawyers...May Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam also get bail at the earliest," she said.

BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla on Monday demanded an apology from the Congress party for "defending" 2020 north-east Delhi riots accused Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam after the Supreme Court rejected the bail plea of the duo.

Speaking to ANI, Poonawalla claimed that SC's observation shows that Delhi riots were not organic but "organised and sponsored."

"Today we would say Satyamev Jayate. The Supreme Court has denied bail to the poster boys of the "Tukde Tukde Gang", Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, whose role in the Delhi riots and charges against UAPA have been prima facie found to be true. It shows that the Delhi riots were not organic but organised, not spontaneous but sponsored. Unfortunately, the Congress Party continued to defend Sharjeel and Umar. These people who wanted to cut and dissect India into pieces. Today they must apologise...The Congress Party and its ecosystem must apologise today," he said.

The lawyer of Gulfisha Fatima, one of the five people who were granted bail in the 2020 Delhi riots case, said, "We are happy that five people got bail today. They will be coming out of jail after 5.5 years. Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have been given the liberty to apply for bail after one year. The police and trial have been directed by the court to run the case swiftly, and all the witnesses are to be examined within a year."

Seeking bail in the case, Sharjeel Imam had expressed anguish before the Supreme Court over being "labelled" a "dangerous intellectual terrorist" without a full-fledged trial or a single conviction.

"I would like to say that I am not a terrorist, as I have been called by the respondent (police). I am not an anti-national, as called by the State. I am a citizen of this country, a citizen by birth and I have not been convicted for any offence till now," senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, representing Imam, said.

He had contended that Imam was arrested on January 28, 2020, which was before the communal violence that broke out in Northeast Delhi, for his speeches that alone cannot constitute the offence of "criminal conspiracy" in the riots case.

Umar Khalid, who was arrested September 2020, had submitted that he was not in Delhi when the riots broke out.

He said he cannot be kept in jail "as if to say that I will punish you for your protests".

Student activists Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid have been denied bail from the Supreme Court in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. While reading out the verdict, the Supreme Court said it "cannot treat all individuals equally" for bail.

The Supreme Court granted bail to five others named in the case: Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed.

"The record discloses that all the appellants do not stand on equal footing as regards culpability. The hierarchy of participation requires the court to assess each application individually. Article 21 requires the state to justify prolonged pre-trial custody," the Supreme Court said.

A group of American lawmakers had written a letter to Indian Ambassador to the US Vinay Kwatra, urging a "fair and timely" trial for Umar Khalid in "accordance with international law."

US Representatives Jim McGovern and Jamie Raskin were among eight lawmakers who expressed concern regarding the "prolonged pre-trial detention of individuals" charged in the case.

"The US and India share a long-standing strategic partnership that has historically been rooted in democratic values, constitutional governance and strong people-to-people ties," said the letter written on December 30, 2025.

As the world's largest democracies, both nations have an interest in protecting and upholding "freedom, the rule of law, human rights and pluralism," it said.

"It is in this spirit" that the lawmakers said they are raising their concerns regarding Khalid's detention.

The Delhi Police have said the offences they committed involved a deliberate attempt to destabilise the state, and cannot be termed as spontaneous protests. They launched a well-orchestrated "pan-India" conspiracy aiming at "regime change" and "economic strangulation", the police have said.

The conspiracy was allegedly planned to coincide with the official visit of US President Donald Trump to India, with the intention of drawing international media attention and globalising the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the investigators had told the court. The issue of CAA was carefully chosen to serve as a "radicalising catalyst" camouflaged in the name of "peaceful protest", they said.

What Is The 2020 Delhi Riots Case

A communal clash broke out in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The riots, one of the deadliest in the national capital in decades, stretched on for days, leaving more than 50 people, mostly Muslims, dead and over 700 injured.

Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) anti-terror law and provisions of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the 2020 riots.

The Delhi Police has opposed their bail pleas, saying the riots were not spontaneous but an "orchestrated, pre-planned and well-designed" attack on India's sovereignty.

Authorities acted promptly, vigilantly, and effectively without any fear or favour and in a professional manner to control the law and order situation in the affected areas and to save life and property during the riots, the police claimed.

In November last year, they had told the high court that they had registered 757 FIRs in connection with the riots and that investigation was pending in 273 cases and trial was pending in 250. Read more here

The Supreme Court, denying bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, said there is evidence against them for criminal conspiracy under the UAPA Act.

"This court is satisfied that the prosecution material disclosed a prima facie allegation against the appellants Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. The statutory threshold stands attracted qua these appellants.  This stage of proceedings does not justify their enlargement on bail," the top court said.

The Supreme Court, while reading the verdict in the 2020 Delhi riots case, said it "cannot treat all individuals equally" for bail.

“The record discloses that all the appellants do not stand on equal footing as regards culpability. The hierarchy of participation requires the court to assess each application individually. Article 21 requires the state to justify prolonged pre trial custody," it said.

The Supreme Court granted bail to five others named in the case: Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed.

Supreme Court denies bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria pronounced the verdict.

Supreme Court notes the special nature of UAPA, which deals with cases sensitive to national security and sovereignty.

"When delay in trial is invoked in stringent laws like UAPA, what should the court do?" it questioned.

The Supreme Court said that UAPA offences are "rarely confined to isolated acts". 

"⁠The statutory scheme reflects this understanding. 43D(5) of UAPA departs from the general provisions for the grant of bail. It does not exclude judicial scrutiny or mandate denial of bail in default," it said.

The Supreme Court noted that Article 21 occupies a central space in the constitutional scheme. "A Pre-trial incarceration cannot be assumed to have the character of punishment. The deprivation of liberty will not be arbitrary," it said.

It further noted that the UAPA, as a special statute, represents a legislative judgment as to the conditions on which bail may be granted in pre pre-trial stage. It also said that the delay serves as a trigger for heightened judicial scrutiny, and the discussion has been confined to delay and prolonged incarceration. 

The Supreme Court will pronounce its verdict shortly on the pleas of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and several others, who have challenged the Delhi High Court order denying them bail in a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.

A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria will also deliver its judgment on the bail pleas filed by Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed.