NEW DELHI: Jailed activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have separately moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi high court’s September 30 order refusing them bail in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.In his plea, both activists argue that they should be granted bail as the prosecution has failed to examine a single witness despite them having spent more than six years in custody as an undertrial. They also pointed out that the one-year period stipulated by the Supreme Court for filing fresh bail pleas was nearing its end.The petition by Imam stated that the chargesheet in the case was filed on September 25, 2020, naming 18 accused and citing more than 900 witnesses, including 47 protected witnesses. However, the prosecution is yet to examine even one witness, Imam submitted.Khalid in his plea pointed out that the prosecution has failed to examine protected witnesses and the one-year embargo imposed by the top court is about to expire and therefore prolonged incarceration would violate Article 21 of the Constitution.Article 21 of the Constitution asserts that no person shall be deprived of their life except according to the procedure established by law. This means that every individual has the right to live, and their life cannot be taken away except in accordance with the prescribed legal procedures.The Delhi high court on September 30 rejected the fresh bail pleas of Khalid and Imam, holding that it was bound by judicial discipline and could not modify the Supreme Court’s January 5 order. The top court had allowed the two to approach the courts again after the examination of protected witnesses or after the expiry of one year, whichever came earlier.The two activists had approached the high court after a trial court rejected their bail applications for the third time on July 4. The trial court had said it had “no option but to follow” the Supreme Court’s January 5 order and could neither entertain their pleas nor grant relief.During the high court proceedings, senior advocate Trideep Pais, appearing for Khalid, had argued that there were three “small changes in circumstances” since the earlier proceedings. He pointed out that charges had not yet been framed and prosecution witnesses had not been examined. Pais also relied on a Supreme Court judgment to support his submissions.Opposing the pleas, Delhi police maintained that Khalid and Imam were the “masterminds” of the riots and could not seek bail on parity with other accused. The police argued that the Supreme Court had previously categorised them as part of the alleged conspiracy’s “command authority” and held that their risk profiles justified continued detention.On January 5, the Supreme Court upheld the Delhi high court’s September 2, 2025 decision denying bail to Khalid and Imam, while granting relief to five 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 Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). It also noted that their alleged roles were distinct from those of the other accused, describing them as the “ideological drivers” of the alleged conspiracy.Khalid and Imam have been in custody since September 2020 and August 2020, respectively. They are accused of being among the masterminds of the larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
The violence erupted amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).The Supreme Court has previously also referred to a larger bench the question of prolonged incarceration of undertrials booked under the UAPA in view of the law’s stringent bail conditions.