BREAKING: Delhi HC denies bail to Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday, September 2, dismissed the bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and seven others in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.

A Bench comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur delivered the verdict, observing: “All the appeals are dismissed.”

"The detailed copy of the judgment is awaited"

The other co-accused are Mohd. Saleem Khan, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Athar Khan, Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, and Shadab.

On July 9, 2025, the High Court reserved its verdict after briefly hearing submissions from the prosecution as well as from counsels representing the accused persons, namely Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Athar Khan, Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, and Shadab.

The prosecution, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, strongly opposed the bail pleas of the accused, arguing, “This is not a question of bail, just bail, as in any other case. We are dealing with well-organised and orchestrated riots that began in the capital at a particular time and day. Even though prolonged incarceration is generally a ground for bail, it cannot apply when one is hell-bent on bleeding the nation and breaking it into two parts.”

"Imam and Khalid used this particular day (of the riots) to defame India on a global level. I will show documents to prove why the bench must not treat this as any other bail matter. The well determined and well orchestrated mechanisms will show deviations which lead to no ground of bail," the SG submitted.

The top law officer also described the investigation as one of the finest he had ever seen: "To satisfy conscience of the court, there are 58 statements recorded under section 164 (of the CrPC)," he told the bench.

He then read out Sharjeel Imam’s speech in court, linking it to subsequent statements by Umar Khalid, which the prosecution alleged were intended to incite violence in the capital. "Sharjeel Imam has made it clear through his speech that he wanted to break the nation, through a particular religion that he played. He said 'Chicken neck musalmano ka hai' in his speech. He wanted to incite people. This is not an ordinary speech," the SG argued. He further contended that the narrative of “intellectuals in jail” “must be brought to its knees, because it was apparent as to what these 'intellectuals' were really doing.”

The Solicitor General also referred to statements of protected witnesses recorded before the magistrate to demonstrate that the riots were orchestrated and pre-planned by “kingpins.” He highlighted Imam’s speech of January 23, 2020," which says - "Humare paas 4 hafte hain, agle sunwayi tak, sarkar toh chhodo, court ko uski nani yaad ajaye,Clear, unambiguous intention to put India to shame, when President of a nation was to visit our country. They say in a chat, 'Trump will be in Delhi on 24th-25th February. Can we do something that will affect delhi?' They say "Delhi" as if its a foreign country. On 23rd February, 2020, the riots in delhi broke. How the global media took this case - that was their intention. They wanted the global media to take note of this and the country is defamed."

During an earlier bail hearing of Sharjeel Imam, his counsel had told the court that the accused had no relation to the place and time of the alleged conspiracy.He had contended that the speeches by the Imam, as well as WhatsApp communication, did not contain any instigation for violence. It was further argued that Imam was uniquely disconnected from the other accused and was not part of any group activity that involved the plans to incite violence

Earlier, on October 18, 2022, the Delhi High Court had dismissed Umar Khalid’s appeal against the trial court’s refusal to grant him bail. While denying relief, the court had held, "This court expresses the inescapable conclusion that allegations against the appellant are prima facie true."

Imam’s bail plea, too, had been rejected by Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai on February 11, 2022, observing that his speeches were intended to create “public disorder” and “incitement to violence” while also appearing to challenge the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India. The Supreme Court had more recently refused to entertain Imam’s Article 32 petition, noting that he could not have approached the top court while his bail plea was pending before the High Court.

Besides Imam, there are nearly seventeen accused in the case. Delhi Police’s Special Cell had registered FIR 59 of 2020, naming several individuals including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa-ur-Rehman.

The accused have been charged under stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as well as sections of the Indian Penal Code relating to criminal conspiracy, promoting enmity, rioting, and murder.

The case stems from the violence that erupted in Northeast Delhi in 2020 during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The clashes between supporters and opponents of the Act led to large-scale incidents of stone-pelting, arson, and violence, leaving 53 people dead and injuring thousands.

Parallelly, proceedings continue before the trial court, which is currently at the stage of arguments on the charge. According to the prosecution, the violence that engulfed the capital was not a spontaneous outburst but a pre-planned conspiracy aimed at destabilising the government during a politically sensitive period.

The state alleges that Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were among the main conspirators behind the riots. The accused, however, deny these charges, asserting that they were merely exercising their democratic right to dissent.

Case Title: Sharjeel Imam vs State and other connected matters.

Date: 2 September 2025

Bench: Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur