Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid file fresh bail pleas in Delhi riots case

Activists Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid have filed fresh bail applications before a Delhi court in the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, arguing that there has been little progress in the trial despite the passage of more than six months since the Supreme Court rejected their earlier pleas.

The applications were filed before Additional Sessions Judge Sumedh Saini, who sought a response from the Delhi Police and posted the matter for hearing on July 4.

In his application, Imam contended that he has remained in judicial custody for six years and that no substantial developments have taken place in the trial since the Supreme Court's verdict on January 5 dismissing his bail plea.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court declined to grant bail to Khalid and Imam in the case while extending relief to five co-accused. The court had observed that there was a prima facie case against the two under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and noted that the accused did not stand on the same footing in terms of their alleged roles and level of participation.

The apex court, however, granted bail to activists Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.

Khalid, Imam and several others have been charged under the UAPA and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code on allegations that they were among the principal conspirators behind the violence that erupted in northeast Delhi in February 2020.

The riots, which occurred amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens, left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.

The accused had earlier approached the Supreme Court challenging a September 2 order of the Delhi High Court that had denied them bail in the conspiracy case.