Delhi HC rejects bail pleas of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in 2020 riots conspiracy case
The Delhi High Court said it is bound by judicial discipline and cannot alter the conditions the Supreme Court set for the two accused in the UAPA case.
Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have got no relief from the Delhi High Court in the UAPA case over the alleged larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in North-East Delhi. A bench of Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Dinesh Bhatt dismissed the bail pleas of both on September 30. Both have been in custody in the case since 2020.
During the hearing, the High Court said it is bound by judicial discipline. In its judgment of January 5, 2026, the Supreme Court had laid down certain specific conditions on the bail of Khalid and Imam. Under them, the two will be free to apply for bail again once the testimony of protected witnesses is complete or one year from the January 5, 2026 order has passed, whichever is earlier. The High Court made clear that it cannot change these conditions.
Earlier, on July 4, 2026, the Karkardooma court had also rejected the bail pleas of both. That court, too, had said the Supreme Court's January 5 order had to be followed. The appeal in the High Court was filed against that decision.
The case relates to allegations of a larger conspiracy behind the violence in North-East Delhi in February 2020. Charges have been framed in FIR No. 59/2020 under the UAPA and several sections of the Indian Penal Code, as it then stood. The Delhi Police prosecution says the violence was not the result of isolated or spontaneous incidents but part of the alleged larger conspiracy.
Khalid and Imam have contested the allegations in court. There has been no final verdict on guilt or innocence in the case. The Supreme Court had also made clear that the observations in its January judgment were limited to the stage of the bail pleas and should not be taken as a final opinion on the merits of the case.
