SC Issues Notice To Delhi Police On Bail Pleas Of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam; Next Hearing On October 27

The Supreme Court has asked the Delhi Police to respond to bail petitions filed by activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa Ur Rehman in connection with the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots.

A bench consisting of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria also issued notices on interim bail applications. The matter has been scheduled for the next hearing on 27 October.

The accused, who were student activists active during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (Anti-CAA) protests of 2019–2020, are charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly planning a “larger conspiracy” that led to the communal riots in late February 2020, resulting in 53 deaths and over 700 injuries. Several of the accused have been in custody for over five years.

The petitions are directed against a 2 September judgment of the Delhi High Court, which had dismissed earlier bail applications. That decision was delivered by a division bench of Justices Naveen Chawla and Shalinder Kaur in relation to FIR 59 of 2020, filed by the Delhi Police Special Cell.

Other accused in the case include Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, Isharat Jahan, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd Saleem Khan, Athar Khan. Safoora Zargar was released on humanitarian grounds during her pregnancy, whereas till now Asif Iqbal Tanha, Faizan Khan, Devangana Kalita, and Natasha Narwal have been granted bail.

Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, AM Singhvi, and Siddharth Dave appeared for the petitioners in the Supreme Court.

The bail rejection order stated that “allowing an unfettered right to protest could undermine the constitutional framework and affect law and order in the country.”

(With inputs from LiveLaw and PTI)