NEW DELHI

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Friday the bail petitions of student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and Gulfisha Fatima in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case linked to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots.

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria will take up the pleas, while that of co-accused Meeran Haider is listed before Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran.

Earlier, a Division Bench of the Delhi High Court comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur had denied bail to nine accused, ruling that the riots were not “a regular protest” but a “premeditated, well-orchestrated conspiracy.” Alongside Mr. Khalid, Mr. Imam, Ms. Fatima, and Mr. Haider, relief was also denied to Athar Khan, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Shifa-ur-Rehman, and Shadab Ahmed.

The bail plea of another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, was separately rejected by a different High Court Bench on September 2. Mr. Khalid, Mr. Imam, and others have been booked under the UAPA and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the violence, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The riots erupted during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.

In its order, the High Court observed: “If the exercise of an unfettered right to protest were permitted, it would damage the constitutional framework and impinge upon law and order. Conspiratorial violence under the garb of protests cannot be permitted.” The court further held that the role of the accused appeared “prima facie grave,” citing inflammatory speeches delivered to incite communal mobilisation.

The accused have been in custody as undertrials since 2020. Their lawyers argue that the trial has been inordinately delayed and seek bail on grounds of parity with co-accused who have already secured relief. Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha were granted bail in June 2021, while former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan was released in March 2022