Activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam denied bail in Delhi riots conspiracy case

A Delhi court on Saturday rejected the bail petitions filed by activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 riots conspiracy case, reported Live Law.

Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma Courts said that he was bound by the Supreme Court’s order from January that denied them bail, according to Bar and Bench.

In its order rejecting bail for Khalid and Imam, a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria had said they could file fresh petitions after all protected witnesses are examined or after one year.

The bench had, however, granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Shadab Ahmed and Muhammad Saleem Khan.

Khalid, Imam and the other activists had been arrested between January 2020 and September 2020 in connection with the communal violence that broke out in North East Delhi in February 2020 between supporters of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it. The violence had left 53 dead and hundreds injured. Most of those killed were Muslims.

The persons accused in the matter have been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, the Arms Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The police have claimed that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to defame the Narendra Modi government and was planned by...

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