The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in a case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots. At the same time, the court granted bail to five other accused — Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.
The court said Khalid and Imam were on a “qualitatively different footing” from the others, pointing to the nature of the prosecution’s case and the evidence against them. It observed that their alleged roles were “central” to the offences under investigation. While the judges acknowledged that both have spent a long time in jail, they said this alone did not override legal restrictions on bail.
Why bail was denied to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam
The verdict was delivered by a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria. The judges made it clear that the cases of Khalid and Imam could not be compared with those of the five others who were granted bail, given the material placed before the court.
The ruling immediately sparked strong reactions from political leaders and those affected by the riots.
Political reactions and voices from families
Karnataka minister and senior Congress leader Priyank Kharge took aim at the government, saying, “Welcome to #ViksitBharat where you are jailed for raising your voice and get bail for being a rapist.” In a social media post, he also referred to several high-profile convicts accused of sexual assault, including Gurmeet Ram Rahim, Asaram Bapu and Kuldeep Singh Sengar.
Umar Khalid’s father, S Q R Ilyas, reacted briefly, saying he had nothing to say about the Supreme Court’s decision.
Hari Solanki, whose son Rahul Solanki died during the Delhi riots, said, “I want to thank the Supreme Court for not granting bail to two people, but I also want to say that granting bail to five people is like giving a death sentence to those who lost family members during the riots. We want them to be given the death sentence so that no such riots ever take place again.”
On the other hand, BJP MP Vivek Thakur welcomed the ruling, saying, “The people who used to say ‘Bharat tere tukde honge’ have got a slap on their face from the Supreme Court. The court mentioned that both accused, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, were central figures and played a crucial role.”
BJP spokesperson Shahzad Poonawalla also supported the verdict, stating, “Today we would say ‘Satyamev Jayate’. The Supreme Court has denied bail to the poster boys of the ‘Tukde Tukde Gang’, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, whose roles in the Delhi riots and charges under the UAPA have been found to be prima facie true. It shows that the Delhi riots were not organic but organised, not spontaneous but sponsored. Unfortunately, the Congress Party kept defending Sharjeel and Umar. Today, they must apologise.”