The Supreme Court has denied bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case, while granting bail to five other co-accused. The ruling, delivered on Monday, January 5, 2026, stated that a prima facie case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) exists against Khalid and Imam, and they "stand on a qualitatively different footing" compared to the other accused.
The case concerns the alleged "larger conspiracy" behind the February 2020 riots in Northeast Delhi, which resulted in 53 deaths and over 700 injuries. The riots followed clashes over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The prosecution argues the violence was a coordinated effort disguised as civil dissent, a "regime-change operation" with deep-rooted planning. The Delhi Police have maintained that the riots were not spontaneous but an orchestrated attack on India's sovereignty.
Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria presided over the bench that delivered the verdict, upholding the Delhi High Court's previous decision to deny bail to Khalid and Imam. The Supreme Court drew a distinction between the roles of Khalid and Imam and the other accused, stating that the "record discloses that the appellants are not on equal footing when it comes to culpability". The court also clarified that the bail granted to the five co-accused—Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed—did not diminish the seriousness of the allegations against them. Twelve conditions were imposed on their release, with a warning that any violation would lead to cancellation of bail.
The court considered key aspects such as personal liberty and prolonged incarceration but was not persuaded that the continued detention of Khalid and Imam warranted bail under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA. The bench noted that UAPA offenses are rarely isolated acts and that the statutory scheme reflects this understanding. The court emphasized that bail is not a forum for evaluating defenses and that judicial restraint requires a structured inquiry. It also referred to the applicability of Section 15 of the UAPA, which defines a "terrorist act" to include acts that disrupt services and threaten the economy. The court stated that each application under the UAPA was being assessed independently because every accused's participation in the culpability was different.
Umar Khalid has been in custody since September 2020, while Sharjeel Imam has been imprisoned since January 2020. Both have faced multiple FIRs, with Imam booked under sedition and UAPA charges across several states. The accused had sought parity with fellow activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who were granted bail in 2021, but the High Court had previously declined this plea, citing the graver roles attributed to Khalid and Imam.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Siddhartha Dave, Salman Khurshid, and Sidharth Luthra represented the accused, while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Additional Solicitor General S V Raju appeared for the Delhi Police. The Supreme Court directed that the trial be concluded in a timely manner and that protected witnesses be examined without delay. The court also stated that Khalid and Imam could renew their bail applications after the examination of protected witnesses or after one year.
