The Supreme Court deferred the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, and others to September 19 in a case linked to the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 Delhi riots. The bench, comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria, cited late receipt of case files as the reason for the adjournment.

The activists, charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code provisions, are accused of being the “masterminds” behind the 2020 riots, which resulted in 53 deaths and over 700 injuries amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). They have been in custody since 2020 and are challenging a September 2 Delhi High Court order that denied bail to nine accused, including Khalid, Imam, Fatima, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Shadab Ahmed. A separate high court bench also rejected the bail plea of Tasleem Ahmed on the same day.

The Delhi High Court, in its ruling, emphasized that while the Constitution protects the right to peaceful protest and free speech under Article 19(1)(a), these rights are not absolute and are subject to reasonable restrictions. It stated that “conspiratorial” violence disguised as demonstrations cannot be permitted, as it risks undermining the constitutional framework and disrupting law and order.

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The accused have consistently denied the allegations against them. Their bail applications were previously rejected by a trial court, prompting their appeal to the high court and now the Supreme Court. The deferral prolongs the legal battle for the activists, who remain in jail as the case continues to draw attention to issues of protest rights and stringent anti-terror laws in India.

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