Sharjeel Imam moves Supreme Court against Delhi High Court order denying bail in UAPA case

The activist says the prosecution has failed to examine even one witness despite citing more than 900 witnesses in the case

Activist Sharjeel Imam has approached the Supreme Court seeking bail in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots, challenging a Delhi High Court order that denied him relief.

In his petition, Imam argued that he should be granted bail because the prosecution has failed to examine a single witness despite his prolonged incarceration, while the one-year restriction imposed by the Supreme Court on filing a fresh bail plea is nearing expiry.

The petition stated that the chargesheet in the case was filed on September 25, 2020, with 18 accused facing trial. The prosecution has cited more than 900 witnesses, including 47 protected witnesses.

Imam submitted that despite spending six years and nine months as an undertrial, the prosecution has failed to examine even a single witness.

On September 30, the Delhi High Court refused to grant bail to Imam and fellow activist Umar Khalid in the UAPA case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

The high court, citing "judicial discipline", said it could not modify the Supreme Court's January 5 order, which directed the two accused to seek bail either after the examination of protected witnesses or on the expiry of one year, whichever was earlier.

Khalid and Imam had challenged the trial court's July 4 decision rejecting their bail pleas for the third time since their arrest. The trial court had said it had "no option but to follow" the Supreme Court's January 5 order and could neither entertain the applications nor grant any relief.

The high court had also noted that while denying bail to the two accused in January, the Supreme Court had observed that their roles were distinct from those of the other co-accused and described them as the "ideological drivers" of the alleged conspiracy.

Khalid and Imam have been booked under the UAPA on allegations of being among the masterminds of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. The violence erupted during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Activist Khalid Saifi and former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, among others, have also been booked in the larger conspiracy case, which is being investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell.

Imam was arrested on August 25, 2020, while Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020.

On September 2, 2025, a Delhi High Court division bench denied bail to Khalid and Imam. On January 5, the Supreme Court upheld the verdict but granted relief to co-accused Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammad Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria had observed that there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Imam under the UAPA.

While rejecting their contention of delay in trial, the Supreme Court had said Khalid and Imam, who have been in custody since 2020, could file fresh bail applications after the examination of protected witnesses or after one year from the date of the order.

On May 22, the Supreme Court granted six-month interim bail to co-accused Abdul Khalid Saifi and Tasleem Ahmad. It also referred the issue of prolonged incarceration of undertrials under the UAPA, in view of the stringent bail conditions, to a larger bench.