The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the bail pleas of activist Sharjeel Imam, former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scholar Umar Khalid, and three others on Monday (September 22, 2025) in the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots.
A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Manmohan, on September 19, adjourned the hearing for the second time in a row and directed that the matter be taken up on September 22, without assigning reasons.
Also read: Umar Khalid | Activist behind bars
The petitions challenge the September 2 verdict of the Delhi High Court denying bail to the accused. A Division Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur had held that the accused played “prima facie grave” roles in the conspiracy.
Besides Mr. Imam and Mr. Khalid, the High Court had denied bail to activists Gulfisha Fatima, Khalid Saifi, Athar Khan, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Meeran Haider, and Shadab Ahmed, accepting the prosecution’s contention that the riots were not “a regular protest” but a “premeditated, well-orchestrated conspiracy.” Separately, the bail plea of another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, was rejected by a different High Court Bench on September 2.
