Sharjeel Imam seeks bail, cites six years of incarceration in Delhi riots case

Sharjeel Imam has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court's refusal to grant him bail in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, citing prolonged incarceration and the prosecution's failure to examine witnesses during the UAPA trial so far

New Delhi: Activist Sharjeel Imam has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order that refused him bail in a case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the alleged “larger conspiracy” behind the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi.

In his plea before the apex court, Imam contended that he should be granted bail as the prosecution had failed to examine witnesses and the one-year restriction imposed by the Supreme Court was nearing expiry.

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The petition stated that the chargesheet was filed on September 25, 2020, in which 18 accused are facing trial and the prosecution has cited more than 900 witnesses, including 47 protected witnesses.

Imam submitted that despite spending six years and nine months as an undertrial, the prosecution had failed to examine even a single witness.

The Delhi High Court on September 30 refused to grant bail to activists Umar Khalid and Imam in the UAPA case relating to the alleged “larger conspiracy” behind the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

Stating that it was bound by “judicial discipline”, the High Court said it could not modify the Supreme Court’s January 5 order directing the two accused to seek bail either after the examination of protected witnesses was completed or after the expiry of one year, whichever was earlier.

Khalid and Imam had challenged the trial court’s July 4 decision rejecting their bail pleas for the third time since their arrest.

The trial court had rejected their bail applications, saying it had “no option but to follow” the Supreme Court’s January 5 order and, therefore, could neither entertain the pleas nor grant any relief.

The High Court had noted that while denying bail to the two accused in January, the Supreme Court had observed that their roles were distinct from those of the other co-accused and described them as the “ideological drivers” of the alleged conspiracy.

Khalid and Imam have been booked under the UAPA on allegations that they were among the masterminds of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.

The violence erupted during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Activist Khalid Saifi and former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, among others, were also booked for their alleged involvement in the larger conspiracy case, which is being investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell.

Imam was arrested in the case on August 25, 2020, while Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020.

On September 2, 2025, a Delhi High Court division bench denied bail to Khalid and Imam.

On January 5, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict but granted relief to co-accused Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammad Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria had observed that there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Imam under the UAPA.

The Supreme Court had said Khalid and Imam, who have been incarcerated since 2020, could file fresh bail applications after the examination of protected witnesses or after one year from the date of the order. It rejected their contention that the trial had been delayed.

On May 22, the apex court granted six months’ interim bail to co-accused Abdul Khalid Saifi and Tasleem Ahmad, referring the issue of prolonged incarceration of undertrials booked under the UAPA, given the stringent bail requirements, to a larger bench.