Bail Request Denied for Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam & Seven Others by Delhi High Court Regarding UAPA Case

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The major activists in the Delhi riots took place at Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2022. Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and seven others pleaded for bail at the Delhi High Court; however, the court strictly refused to offer them bail. The court said that the accused people should remain in custody as long as the trial proceedings continue. 

Bail Denied for Prominent Activists in UAPA Case

Along with the people mentioned above, the Delhi High Court has rejected the bail requests of Khalid Saifi, Mohd Saleem, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Meeran Haider, Shadaab Ahmed, and Athar Khan. Gulfisha Fatima, a student activist in Delhi, filed these bail requests.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra has shared the following on ‘X’, “Delhi HC denies bail to Umar Khalid & six others after five years of incarceration, where nothing has even moved in the case. Grossest travesty of justice. We have to fight in SC now.” 

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Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam are the masterminds who conspired to cause the 2022 Delhi riots. This riot occurred when the protests were against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The protests were also targeted at the National Register of Citizens (NRC). During this chaotic riot, 53 people were killed, and around 700 people were severely injured. These protests spanned over three days.


Prolonged Incarceration Cited During Arguments

The accused people, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, argued that it was unfair to keep them in prolonged incarceration without facing any charges. Khalid’s lawyer said that his client had been locked inside the prison since September 2020 and had been denied bail several times.

In response to these bail requests, Tushar Mehta, who is a Solicitor General, claimed that the 2020 Delhi riots were part of a pre-planned conspiracy and did not come to pass on the spot or spontaneously. Mehta has also alleged that Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, along with others, have conspired to divide India based on religion. Further arguing, “Those indulging in anti-national activities are not entitled to bail.”

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To sum up, despite repeated bail requests from Gulfisha Fatima, lawyers, and other activists, the Delhi High Court has sternly dismissed the bail, citing that the riot was a planned conspiracy that intended to promote hatred and divide the people.