Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam To Stay In Jail As Top Court Defers Bail Plea Hearing

Supreme Court Defers Bail Plea Hearing for Activists in Delhi Riots Case

Khalid and fellow activists remain charged under UAPA provisions.

The Supreme Court has postponed until September 22 the hearing on bail applications filed by activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, and Meeran Haider in connection with the UAPA case regarding alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots.

Justices Aravind Kumar and Manmohan, forming the bench, elected to defer consideration of the pleas.

These activists are challenging a September 2 Delhi High Court ruling that denied bail to nine individuals, including Khalid and Imam. The High Court stated that "conspiratorial" violence disguised as demonstrations or protests by citizens could not be permitted.

In addition to Khalid and Imam, bail was also denied to Fatima, Haider, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Shadab Ahmed.

Another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, had his bail application rejected by a separate high court bench on the same date, September 2.

The high court acknowledged that the Constitution grants citizens the right to protest and conduct demonstrations or agitations, provided they are orderly, peaceful, unarmed, and conducted within legal parameters.

While the court recognized that the right to participate in peaceful protests and deliver speeches at public gatherings is protected under Article 19(1)(a) and should not be arbitrarily restricted, it emphasized that this right is "not absolute" but rather "subject to reasonable restrictions."

The bail rejection order stated, "If the exercise of an unfettered right to protest were permitted, it would damage the constitutional framework and impinge upon the law and order situation in the country."

Khalid, Imam, and the other accused have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the former Indian Penal Code for allegedly orchestrating the February 2020 riots, which resulted in 53 deaths and over 700 injuries.

The violence erupted during demonstrations against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The accused, all of whom have maintained their innocence against all allegations, have been incarcerated since 2020 and approached the high court after a trial court dismissed their bail applications.