Prolonged Incarceration; Inordinate Delay: Umar Khalid, Others Continue To Press For Bail In 2020 Delhi Riots Case 

The Supreme Court reconvened on Friday to resume hearing bail petitions by student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima and Shifa-ur-Rehman in the larger conspiracy case tied to the 2020 Delhi riots. 

After the apex court on Monday slammed Delhi Police for the delay in filing its counter-affidavits in the case, a bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria picked up the matter on October 31.

On Monday, October 27, Additional Solicitor-General S.V. Raju had requested two weeks for the police to file their response. He added that he was appearing in the case for the first time. The bench took a dim view of this submission. 

The apex court told Mr Raju that ample time had already been given, referring to previous directions to issue notice. The court set Friday as the date for continued arguments and directed the police to submit their affidavit. 

When proceedings resumed on Friday, Senior Counsels Kapil Sibal, A.M. Singhvi, and Siddharth Dave argued in defence of Khalid and others. The senior lawyers argued there was a lack of evidence tying some of the accused to the 2020 Delhi riots and pointed to the length of pre-trial detention.

Singhvi submitted that Gulfisha Fatima, his client—the only woman in custody— has spent over five and a half years in jail. “I am not a hardened offender,” he said of Fatima, urging the court to consider that the fundamental right to personal liberty had to be balanced with the interests of justice in such cases. He further pointed to the numerous adjournments taken in the case and the multiple supplementary chargesheets filed since 2020.

The accused have been “in jail since five years five months from April 2020. The chargesheet was filed on 16.9.2020. Now they make an annual ritual to file a supplementary chargesheet every year,” he said. 

Appearing for Umar Khalid, Senior counsel Kapil Sibal argued, once again, that there had been no recovery of weapons, funds or other incriminating material from the accused. “On the dates when the riots took place, I was not in Delhi. There is no witness statement connecting me to any act of violence,” he said.

Siddharth Dave, for Sharjeel Imam, argued that the pre-trial incarceration and investigative delays, pointing out that “out of the five years Imam has spent in custody, three went by because the probe was still ongoing.” Dave further argued that several speeches relied on by the prosecution were delivered months before the violence and did not establish any link to the 2020 Delhi riots.

Delhi Police, represented by the Additional Solicitor-General, have opposed bail. They alleged that the accused are actors in a larger conspiracy. Their detention is justified, police say, because of the serious nature of the alleged crimes. 

After hearing the initial submissions on evidence and procedure, the bench set the next hearing date for Monday, November 3, 2025. The activists are now expected to present further arguments at the next scheduled hearing, where the court will continue considering their bail requests.