Bail Denied to Umar Khalid, 9 Others in 2020 Riots Case

Sept 3, 2025 - The Delhi High Court has dismissed bail petitions from 10 people, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have been in prison since 2020 in the Delhi riots case. The detained have been accused of “larger conspiracy” and of planning the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots in which 53 people were killed and about 700 injured. They have been in custody for almost five years without trial having been arrested under the country’s anti-terror laws - the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA.

Apart from Khalid and Imam, those also in custody are Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima and Shadab Ahmed. A different Division Bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar also denied bail to Tasleem Ahmed, who is similarly accused in the same case. 

The High Court, comprising of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur, ruled “all the appeals are dismissed” stressing that while peaceful protest is Constitutionally protected, it is not absolute. The judges said any conspiracy veiled as protest—especially one that leads to violence—cannot be tolerated. The Court noted that participation in even one conspiratorial act suffices to deny bail under UAPA’s stringent provisions.

The refusal to grant bail centres on Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which requires Courts to deny bail if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the allegations against the accused are prima facie true. The Court rejected prolonged incarceration as the sole ground to grant bail in UAPA cases despite the accused having spent more than five years in custody.

The defence sought parity with other accused—like Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha—who had earlier been granted bail. The Court rejected this, underscoring that Khalid and Imam’s roles are “prima facie grave” compared to those granted bail.

The only legal recourse now left for these individuals is to approach the Supreme Court. Until then, they remain in custody.

Khalid's partner Banojyotsna Lahiri told a news agency that "Keeping someone in jail for five years without any trial is in itself a ground for bail. But Mr Khalid's plea is again rejected by the High Court. We do not understand the reason because, as citizens, we only look up to courts for justice. We will go to the Supreme Court, as that is the only option left for us."

Meanwhile, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) has announced a solidarity march on September 13 to mark five years since Khalid's arrest.

With Media Inputs

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