The Left parties criticised the Delhi High Court’s decision to deny bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and eight others for their alleged involvement in the 2020 Delhi riots on Wednesday (September 3, 2025). The CPI(M) said the court’s decision amounts to a “travesty of justice” and negation of the principle that “grant of bail is the rule and refusal the exception”. The CPI (ML) called “their prolonged incarceration” a “political conspiracy to silence dissenting voices.”
Imam, Umar, Khalid Saifi, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Athar Khan, Mohd. Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed have been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly conspiring the February 2020 communal riots in Delhi. This was the fifth time that their bail application was rejected in the past five years. The CPI(M) said that in five years, Delhi Police have not been able to frame charges against the accused.
