Delhi High Court refuses bail to activists Imam and Khalid, saying it cannot modify the SC's Jan 5 order.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, September 30, refused to grant bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in a case under the draconian anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), on the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Dinesh Bhatt dismissed the bail pleas of Khalid and Sharjeel, making it the third time the High Court rejected their bail applications.
The bench said it cannot modify the Supreme Court’s January 5 order asking the two accused to seek bail either on completion of protected witnesses’ examination or expiry of one year from passing the order, whichever is earlier.
Khalid and Imam have been booked under the UAPA on allegations of being the masterminds of the February 2020 riots that left 53 people dead, of whom 36 were Muslims, 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 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain, among others, were also booked for allegedly being involved in the larger conspiracy case, investigated by Delhi Police’s Special Cell.
They moved the high court earlier this year after their bail applications were dismissed by a trial court for the third time on July 4. While Imam was arrested on August 25, 2020, Khalid was taken into custody on September 13, 2020.
The Delhi Police opposed the pleas in the high court, asserting that the two are the “masterminds” of the riots.
This post was last modified on September 30, 2026 1:02 pm