Sharjeel Imam Moves SC Over Denied Bail In 2020 Delhi Riots Case

Activist Sharjeel Imam on Saturday moved the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order denying him bail in an anti-terror law case linked to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in the national capital.

A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur had dismissed the bail pleas of Imam, Umar Khalid, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima.

The court reserved its order on July 9 on the pleas filed in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

The prosecution had opposed the pleas saying it was not a case of spontaneous riots but a case where riots were 'planned well in advance' with a 'sinister motive' and 'well-thought-out conspiracy'.

Khalid, Imam and others were booked under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of IPC for allegedly being the 'masterminds' of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.