NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear, on October 27, the bail pleas of Gulfisha Fatima, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Umar Khalid, Shifa Ur Rehman, and Mohd Saleem Khan, accused in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. A bench headed by Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice NV Anjaria will hear the pleas when the court reopens after a seven-day Diwali vacation.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing several accused, including Imam, stated that they are students and have been in jail for over five years. Imam had moved the SC on September 6 after the Delhi High Court rejected his bail plea under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 North East Delhi riots. Umar Khalid similarly challenged the HC’s rejection on September 10.
According to the prosecution, Imam was arrested in January 2020 from Bihar’s Jehanabad for allegedly making inflammatory speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia University and Aligarh Muslim University. The February 2020 riots, triggered by protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), left 53 dead and hundreds injured. Authorities allege that Imam conspired to cause widespread violence and was booked under multiple FIRs in several states.
The Delhi HC had rejected the bail pleas of nine accused, including Khalid and Imam, on September 2, citing the conspiratorial nature of the violence. Khalid, a social activist and former JNU student, has been in jail since September 14, 2020, under UAPA charges, denying any involvement in the riots.
Other accused, including Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Safoora Zargar, and Tahir Hussain, were also arrested under stringent laws.
