Bail Denied: Delhi High Court Rules On Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid In 2020 Violence Case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail applications of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, including Tasleem Ahmed, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Delhi riots.

“All the appeals are dismissed,” the court said while pronouncing its verdict, keeping all the accused in judicial custody.

The bail pleas of several of the co-accused had been pending in the High Court since 2022 and were heard by different Benches over time.

The Delhi High Court pronounced its judgment in the long-pending bail pleas filed by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and seven other accused in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.

A division bench of Justice Naveen Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur heard the verdict today, September 2 at 2:30 PM.

A separate bench comprising Justice Subramonium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar was meant to be pronounced its order on co-accused Tasleem Ahmed's bail petition at 10:25, September 2, 2025. It has since been posted for 2:30 pm as well.

All the accused had challenged the trial court’s orders denying them bail.

During the hearings, Senior Advocate Trideep Pais, representing Umar Khalid, told the court that simply being on a few WhatsApp groups, having sent no messages in them or interacted with them, is not a criminal offense and cannot amount to conspiracy.

Pais also told the court that the police had made no recovery, cash or otherwise, from Khalid. He added that the alleged secret meeting on the night of February 23-24 2020 was false and that this was a public meeting that was “not at all secretive,” as prosecution had claimed.

 Khalid Saifi, who was represented through Senior Advocate Rebecca John, also submitted that UAPA cannot be charged on a person on the basis of messages.

“Can UAPA on the basis of innocuous messages or their (prosecution) attempt to make stories out of such messages, can it become a reason to deny me bail or is it even a ground to prosecute me under UAPA?” John asked the bench.

 John further added that Saifi should be released on bail on the ground of parity as three of his co-accused persons were given bail in June 2021.

Imam told court he is not at all connected with the other co-accused in the case and therefore there was no question of there being a conspiracy or conspiracy meetings as the Delhi police has alleged.

Talib Mustafa, Imam's lawyer told the court that the police’s allegations about his client’s in the riots is, by the prosecution’s admittance, till January 23, 2020. Cops have also relief on a speech he gave in Bihar.

SGI Tushar Mehta appeared for Delhi Police and opposed giving the accused any bail.“

“If you are doing something against the nation, then you better be in jail till you are acquitted or convicted,” Mehta told court.

Mehta also added that the accused’s’ intentions were to “globally defame” India by choosing a particular day for more rioting and more arson.

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad was also present representing Delhi Police.

Delhi Police's Special Cell registered the FIR in 2020 under various offences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The accused in the case are Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Isharat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan and Natasha Narwal.