Activist Sharjeel Imam has approached the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court order that denied him bail in a case linked to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots.
On September 2, a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur had dismissed bail petitions filed by Imam along with co-accused Umar Khalid, Mohammad Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Gulfisha Fatima.
The Delhi Police had opposed the bail pleas, arguing that the 2020 violence was not a sudden outburst but a result of a “well-planned conspiracy” executed with a “sinister motive.” The prosecution has maintained that Imam, Khalid, and others were key conspirators in orchestrating the unrest.
The accused have been charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, with investigators alleging that they played a central role in mobilizing and instigating violence.
The riots, which broke out in northeast Delhi during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
Imam’s plea in the Supreme Court is expected to come up for listing in the coming days.
