Why Supreme Court Granted Bail To 5 But Not Umar Khalid And Sharjeel Imam

While reading out the verdict, the Supreme Court said it “cannot treat all persons equally” for bail.

New Delhi:

Student activists Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid have been denied bail by the Supreme Court in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. While reading out the verdict, the Supreme Court said it “cannot treat all individuals equally” for bail.

The Supreme Court granted bail to five others named in the case: Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Hyder, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed, with conditions.

“The record reveals that all the appellants do not stand on equal footing as regards culpability. The hierarchy of participation requires the court to assess each application individually. Article 21 requires the state to justify prolonged pre-trial custody,” the Supreme Court said.

The top court also noted that the two cannot be given the advantage of the delay in the trial.

Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid had challenged the Delhi High Court order denying them bail in a case filed under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or (UAPA), linked to the alleged greater conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.

2020 Delhi Riots Case

On February 24, 2020, during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), a communal conflict broke out in northeast Delhi. The riots continued for days, leaving more than 50 people, mostly Muslims, dead and over 700 injured.

Twenty people, including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillor Tahir Hussain, were among those who were charged for their alleged involvement in the larger conspiracy to incite the riots.

Delhi Police Opposes Bail Pleas

The Delhi Police have time and again opposed bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, stating the crimes they committed involved a deliberate attempt to destabilize the state, and cannot be termed as spontaneous protests. They launched a well-orchestrated “pan-India” conspiracy aiming at “regime change” and “economic strangulation”, the police have said.

When Umar Khalid Called Delhi Riots Case FIR A “Joke”

Earlier in September, Umar Khalid opposed the framing of charges in the 2020 Delhi riots “larger conspiracy” case and told a Delhi Supreme Court that he has spent five years in custody in this “joke of an FIR”. He alleged that evidence was fabricated to implicate him.

Khalid alleged that the prosecution first decides to involve a person and then target him by fabricating documents and filing the chargesheet.

“You first decide ‘isko pakadna hai’ (this person has to be caught)… then reverse engineering takes place,” Mr Pais said.

“There are no linkages (with the actual crimes) and we are far away from recovery,” he added.

The Supreme Court today (January 5) denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, observing that the materials showed a prima facie case against them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. At the same time, the Court granted bail to some of the other accused in the case – Gulfisha Fatima, Meera Hyder, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed.

As regarding Khalid and Imam, the Court said that they can renew their bail applications after the examination of protected witnesses or after one year from today. The Court observed that the prosecution materials prima facie revealed “a central and formative role” and “involvement in the level of planning, mobilization and strategic direction extending beyond episodic and localized acts.”

“Threshold under Section 43D(5) stands attracted…continued detention has not crossed constitutional impermissibility to override the statutory embargo as against them,” the Court noted.

The Supreme Court said that it has avoided a collectively approach and has independently analyzed the role of each accused. The Court also directed the trial court to expedite the process. For the plaintiffs who have been granted bail, twelve bail conditions have been imposed, the misuse of which would attract the cancellation of the liberty. A bench consisting of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice NV Anjaria pronounced the judgment.

The Supreme Court is set to pronounce its order this morning in the bail pleas filed by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa ur Rehman, Shadab Ahmed and Mohd Saleem Khan in the larger conspiracy case in relation to the 2020 North East Delhi riots.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria will deliver the verdict.

Khalid and others moved the top court against the Delhi High Court’s September 2 order refusing them bail. The top court had issued notice to the police on September 22.

The riots occurred in February 2020 following conflicts over the then-proposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). As per the Delhi Police, the riots caused the death of 53 persons and injured hundreds.

The present case concerns allegations that the accused had hatched a larger conspiracy to cause multiple riots. The FIR in this case was registered by a Special Cell of the Delhi Police under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the UAPA.

Most of the accused were booked in multiple FIRs, leading to multiple bail petitions before various courts. Most have been in custody since 2020.

Khalid was arrested in September 2020 and charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly, as well as several other crimes under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

He has been in jail since then.

The trial court had first denied him bail in March 2022. He then approached the Supreme Court, which also denied him relief in October 2022, prompting him to file an appeal before the apex court.

In May 2023, the Supreme Court sought the response of the Delhi Police in the case. His plea before the top court was then adjourned 14 times.

On February 14, 2024, he withdrew his bail petition from the Supreme Court, citing a change in circumstances.

On May 28, the trial court rejected his second bail petition. An appeal against the same was dismissed by the Delhi Supreme Court on September 2, prompting the present plea before the apex court.

Imam was also booked in multiple FIRs across several States, mostly under sedition and UAPA charges.

In the case recorded over speeches he gave at Jamia Milia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University, he was granted bail by the Delhi High Court last year. In the sedition cases registered in Aligarh and Guwahati, he was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in 2021 and the Gauhati Supreme Court in 2020, respectively. He was also booked in FIRs in Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

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