Delhi High Court Denies Bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in 2020 Riots Case

The Delhi High Court rejected the bail pleas of activist Umar Khalid and former JNU student Sharjeel Imam in the larger conspiracy case linked to the February 2020 Northeast Delhi riots on Wednesday. Khalid was before the High Court for the third time seeking regular bail. The court had earlier rejected his pleas in October 2022 and September 2025, with the Supreme Court upholding both orders.

Refusing the bail, the Delhi High Court held that the two cannot claim parity with others who were granted bail by the Supreme Court. A division bench of Justices Prathiba Singh and Dinesh Bhatt held that it is “bound by judicial discipline” of the SC verdicts. It also held that Khalid and Imam cannot claim parity with two other accused - Tasleem Ahmad and Abdul Khalid Saifi - who were granted bail by the SC on grounds of divergent views of the SC on UAPA bail jurisprudence.

The two, facing charges under the stringent terror law, have been in jail for over six years now. The SC, in its order on January 5, had refused bail to Khalid and Imam, while granting bail to five other co-accused in the case, and establishing a “hierarchy of participation”. In this hierarchy, both the student activists were classified to be on a “higher footing” compared to the five others who were granted bail, by the SC.

The SC, while denying bail to the two, had kept it open for them to apply for bail either a year after the judgement or after examination of protected witnesses, whichever is earlier. However, subsequent to the January 5 verdict by the SC, a judgment in May had differed from the January judgment, and expressed “serious reservations on various aspects of the judgment” of January.

On Wednesday, the Delhi HC held that this judgement shall not apply in Khalid and Imam’s case as there are specific verdicts pertaining to bail jurisprudence in the Northeast Delhi riots case by the SC. Both Khalid and Imam were relying on the divergent views taken by different benches of the SC for seeking bail under terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, even as a reference to a larger bench for deciding the divergent view between two benches of the SC remains pending before the top court.

Till date, charges have not been framed in the case. Examination of witnesses, including protected witnesses, only takes place after the trial begins after framing of charges. The two have been booked for offences under the Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Damage to Public Property (PDPP) Act, Arms Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The two are facing allegations of a ‘larger conspiracy’ to allegedly cause the riots in Northeast Delhi between February 23 and 25, 2020, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. This is a developing story. Please refresh periodically for more updates.