SC Dismisses Umar Khalid's Plea Seeking Review Of Verdict Denying Him Bail

The Supreme Court has dismissed activist Umar Khalid's plea seeking a review of a verdict denying him bail, while observing that there are reasonable grounds to believe the allegations levelled against him in connection with a conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria also rejected the plea seeking an oral hearing of the review petition.

"Having gone through the review petition and also the documents enclosed, we do not find any good ground and reason to review the judgment dated January 5, 2026. Accordingly, the review petition is dismissed," the bench said in its April 16 order.

According to the Supreme Court's rules, review petitions are considered by judges who delivered a judgment or passed an order in chambers to remedy an apparent error or a resultant grave injustice that was a consequence of a decision of the apex court. Parties seeking a review can request judges for an open-court hearing to rectify the grave injustice caused due to the decision under review.

On January 5, besides Khalid, the top court refused bail to Sharjeel Imam but granted it to five others, saying all the accused did not stand on the same footing.

The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), leaving 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.

The Delhi Police had arrested a total of 18 people in the conspiracy case. Of them, 11 have got bail so far.