Delhi High Court rejects bail pleas of 2020 riots conspiracy accused

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (September 2, 2025) rejected the bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.

Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam bail plea hearing LIVE

“All the appeals are dismissed,” a bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur said while delivering the verdict.

This verdict follows another order on the bail plea of co-accused Tasleem Ahmed, who was denied bail by a bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad and Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar on Tuesday (September 2, 2025).

The accused, booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and IPC provisions, had contended that five years in custody without trial amounted to a violation of their fundamental right to liberty.

However, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for Delhi Police, argued that those accused of acting against the nation must remain in jail till acquitted or convicted. He highlighted that the riots left one police officer dead and over 140 others injured, calling the violence the result of a “well-orchestrated and organised criminal conspiracy.”

The Solicitor General also rejected claims that prolonged incarceration justified bail, terming the police investigation “one of the finest,” with 58 statements recorded before a magistrate to satisfy the court.

“It is not just a case of bail in any other regular riot case. We are dealing with a well-orchestrated and well-organised criminal conspiracy,” the Solicitor General had said.

The February 2020 riots had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.