The Supreme Court on Monday denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots case after it said they stood on a “higher footing in the hierarchy of participation” in the alleged larger conspiracy.
After the verdict, Umar’s father, S Qasim Ilyas, called the top court’s decision “very unfortunate.”
“I have no comment to offer. It is very unfortunate. I have nothing to say about it. The judgment is there,” Ilyas told mediapersons gathered outside the court premises.
The top court granted conditional bail to five others in the case: Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Salim Khan, and Shadab Ahmad. Khalid said he was happy and relieved for them, even as he said that jail had become his life, according to his partner, Banojyotsna Lahiri.
The bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria clarified that “this exercise does not dismantle the prosecution case of conspiracy, nor does it rank culpability.”
They added that the objective was to prevent pretrial incarceration from becoming indiscriminate, and to ensure that statutory restraints are applied reasonably, proportionately, and in line with individual attribution.
On September 2, last year, the Delhi High Court had rejected the bail pleas of nine accused in the case after it held that the riots were not a “regular protest” but a “premeditated and well-orchestrated conspiracy”, and ruled that the accused were not entitled to bail in view of the seriousness of charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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The Supreme Court had reserved its order on the batch of special leave petitions (SLPs) challenging the Delhi HC’s order.
