The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to anti-Citizenship Amendment Act activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots even as it allowed it for five others, Gulfisha Fatima, Meera Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed.
They have been in prison for more than five years now.
The court made an exception for Khalid and Imam, arguing that both were “masterminds” and the material on record made out a “prima facie case” against them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
It noted that it had refrained from adopting a “collective approach” and had instead “independently examined the specific role” attributed to each accused person. “Treating all accused identically irrespective of their roles would risk transforming pre-trial detention into a punitive mechanism divorced from individual circumstances,” the court explained.
Khalid and others had approached the Supreme Court to seek relief after the Delhi High Court rejected their bail pleas in September. After hearing detailed submissions from both the prosecution and the accused, the Supreme Court had reserved its verdict in December.
The seven had been arrested at various points between January and September 2020 in connection with communal violence that took place in North East Delhi in 2020. The clashes took place between supporters...
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