Today, On 2nd September, The Delhi High Court has refused to grant bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and seven others accused in the larger conspiracy case under UAPA related to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots, citing serious allegations against them.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court denied bail to former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, along with seven others, in connection with a larger conspiracy case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) related to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.
The nine individuals seeking bail included Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Gulfisha Fatima.
They argued that the prolonged delay in the trial had resulted in their extended detention.
Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur, who formed the Bench, delivered the verdict, stating,
“All appeals are dismissed.”
Read Also: Umar Khalid’s UAPA Case| Delhi Court Reserves Order on Bail Plea
Initially, the trial court denied him bail in March 2022. Khalid subsequently approached the High Court, which also refused him relief in October 2022, leading him to file an appeal with the Supreme Court. In May 2023, the Supreme Court requested a response from the Delhi Police regarding the matter, but his plea was adjourned 14 times. On February 14, 2024, he withdrew his bail petition from the Supreme Court, citing changed circumstances.
Earlier, A Supreme Court Bench, including Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, was scheduled to hear the case when Khalid’s counsel, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, announced the withdrawal of the bail plea.
Following this, the trial court rejected his second bail petition on May 28, prompting the current appeal to the High Court.
Other co-accused also appealed to the High Court after their bail requests were turned down by the trial court. Senior Advocate Trideep Pais represented Umar Khalid in the proceedings.
Regarding the WhatsApp group conversations presented as evidence by the Delhi Police, Pais argued that while Khalid was part of three groups, he had hardly sent any messages.
He stated,
“Merely being on a group is not any indication of anything wrong; in this case, I have not even said anything. I only shared the location of a protest site when someone asked for it. Someone sent me a message. If someone chooses to inform me, it is not attributable to me. Anyway, there was no criminality in the message.”
Pais further asserted that there were no allegations of violence or fund-raising against Khalid and that his speeches were rooted in Gandhian principles.
In opposition, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Delhi Police, strongly contested the bail requests. He claimed that the accused, including Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, were attempting to divide the nation along religious lines, emphasizing that those engaging in anti-national activities should not be granted bail.
Mehta stated,
“Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were preparing to divide the nation, cutting the nation on the basis of religion. They are all acting in concert, Gufisha, Umar, everyone – they are in touch with each other by the WhatsApp group and conspiracy is taking place,”
Senior Advocate Salman Khurshid defended Rehman, while Senior Advocate Rebecca John represented Abdul Khalid Saifi.
Umar Khalid was arrested in September 2020 and has faced charges of criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly, and other offenses under the UAPA. He has remained incarcerated since his arrest. This marked his second attempt to secure bail from the High Court.
Case Title: Sharjeel Imam v. State & other connected matters
Read Judgement