The Supreme Court issued notice to Delhi Police on bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa Ur Rehman in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, listing the matter for October 7 hearing.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, September 22 issued notice to the Delhi Police on bail petitions filed by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa Ur Rehman in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria listed the matter for hearing on October 7. The court also apologised for not taking up the matter on September 19, explaining that his colleague had recused himself due to a prior association with Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal who was appearing for the petitioner. Kapil Sibal told the Supreme Court that the petitioners should be considered for release “before Diwali, so that they can be out by the festival.” Apart from Kapil Sibal, advocates AM Singhvi and Siddharth Dave represented the petitioners.
Detained for Over Five Years
Advocate Singhvi emphasized that the petitioners are students who have been in detention for over five years. He mentioned that an interim bail application had also been filed, though it was not pressed during the hearing. He requested notice on the interim application, but Justice Kumar indicated that the Court would decide the main petition itself. The accused include Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa Ur Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha (granted bail in 2021), Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohammad Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar (released on humanitarian grounds), Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan, Devangana Kalita (granted bail), and Natasha Narwal (granted bail).
These petitions challenge the Delhi High Court’s September 2 ruling, which had rejected their bail applications in FIR 59 of 2020, registered by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell. The High Court judgment was delivered by a division bench of Justices Naveen Chawla and Shalinder Kaur. The accused, who were prominent student activists involved in anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in 2019-2020, face charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and the Indian Penal Code for allegedly orchestrating a larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 communal riots in Delhi.