SC adjourns hearing on bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam till Sep 22
The Supreme Court of India has put off the bail hearings for Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Meeran Haider, and Gulfisha Fatima until Monday, September 22. These student activists and leaders face charges in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case under the tough Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA.
A bench led by Justices Aravind Kumar and Manmohan made the call after lawyers for the accused asked for more time. Earlier, the court had set September 19 as the date to hear the special leave petitions (SLPs), but things got delayed.
This comes after the Delhi High Court turned down bail for several of them last month. On September 2, Justices Shalinder Kaur and Navin Chawla said there was strong evidence pointing to Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid as key players in planning the riots. The court pointed out their fiery speeches on February 24, 2020—right when then-US President Donald Trump was visiting India. Prosecutors claim the timing was no accident; it aimed to spark violence on February 23-24 and grab global headlines.
“The speeches by Imam and Khalid, when you look at the full picture, clearly show their hand in the conspiracy,” the High Court noted.
For Meeran Haider, the court highlighted her alleged role in funneling money to the Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia (AAJMI). That’s where meetings of the Jamia Coordination Committee (JCC) happened. Even though the probe against her is done, the bench said it doesn’t change things enough for bail—especially with witnesses still to be questioned and the serious nature of the charges.
As for Gulfisha Fatima, the prosecution says she used secret code words to guide protesters and got funds to push the plot forward.
These cases tie back to the deadly February 2020 Delhi riots, which erupted amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). The violence claimed 53 lives and injured over 700 people in North-East Delhi. The ongoing legal battle keeps the spotlight on the alleged larger conspiracy behind it all.
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