Delhi riots case: Supreme Court defers bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others to September 22

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday deferred its hearing on pleas for bail filed by former JNU students Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and others, arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for a larger conspiracy in 2020 Delhi riots.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria allowed a plea for adjournment made on behalf of the counsel for the accused and posted the matter for consideration on Monday.

On September 12, the court had decided to take up the matter on September 19 as the bench had said it had got the case files late at night and could not read it.

Khalid and others have been in jail since 2020 in connection with the riots which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The High Court on September 2, 2025 dismissed the bail petitions.

A division bench had noted the nature of the allegations, and specifically the submission by the State that the present is not a case of regular protest or riot matter, but rather a premeditated, well-orchestrated conspiracy to commit unlawful activities threatening the unity, integrity, and sovereignty of India.

The court had then also dismissed similar bail plea by other accused Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima and Shadab Ahmed.