NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will pronounce its judgment on Monday, January 5, on the bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Meera Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Delhi riots.
A two-judge Bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Aravind Kumar and comprising Justice N V Anjaria, is expected to deliver the verdict. The court had reserved its judgment on December 10 after hearing detailed arguments from Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Delhi Police, and senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Singhvi, Siddhartha Dave, Salman Khurshid and Sidharth Luthra, representing the accused.
The accused have been in custody for over five years and face serious charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The Delhi Police strongly opposed the bail pleas, arguing that the February 2020 riots were not spontaneous but an “orchestrated, pre-planned and well-designed” attack on India’s sovereignty. ASG Raju rejected the defence argument that repeated supplementary charge-sheets had delayed the trial, asserting that the prosecution was ready to argue at every stage.
Detailing Umar Khalid’s alleged role, Raju presented a chronological account of events dating back to December 2019, when protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were intensifying in the capital. He relied on speeches and witness statements recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
Raju argued that Khalid had violated prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Indian Penal Code in December 2019 and cited alleged evidence of secret meetings and text messages suggesting involvement in organising chakka jams (road blockades). He further claimed that Khalid was kept informed by co-conspirators during the riots, indicating that the conspiracy was planned months in advance. Refuting arguments about Khalid’s absence from specific locations, Raju said call detail records placed him at key sites and added that flight ticket details showed an alleged attempt to flee.
Senior advocate Siddhartha Dave, appearing for Sharjeel Imam, argued that the speeches attributed to the accused would, at most, constitute “unlawful activities” under Section 13 of the UAPA. In response, Raju contended that the speeches amounted to terrorist acts under Section 15, as the riots led to widespread blockades and affected the country’s “economic security”.
All the accused have denied the allegations and maintained their innocence. The Delhi High Court had earlier rejected their bail pleas, prompting them to approach the Supreme Court. The petitions challenge the Delhi High Court’s verdict dated September 2, 2025, delivered by a division Bench comprising Justice Naveen Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur.
The riots, which took place in February 2020 following protests against the CAA and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured, according to the prosecution.