The Supreme Court will be hearing on Friday (September 12, 2025) the petitions filed by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and six others. This development has been reported after the Delhi High Court had denied them bail in the February 2020 Delhi riots case. They have failed to get any reprieve from the Delhi High Court in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case. This case is related to the alleged “larger conspiracy case” behind the February 2020 riots in the national capital.
Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam & Gulfisha Fatima have been in judicial custody since 2020. The bail pleas are slated to be heard by a bench of justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria according to PTI.
Apart from Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Gulfisha Fatima, Delhi High Court had denied bail to others as well. They are Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Shadab Ahmed. A separate High Court bench rejected the bail plea of another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, on the same day.
What do we know about Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967?
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967(UAPA) is anti-terrorism law in India and was first introduced in 1967. Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Bill 2019 was an amendment to this act. Union Minister of Home Affairs, Amit Shah had introduced in Lok Sabha on July 08, 2019. The bill was passed in Lok Sabha on July 24, 2019, and passed in Rajya Sabha on August 02, 2019.
With this amendment, the Central Government included the provision of designating an individual as terrorist. When this amendment was not included, only organizations could be designated as terrorist organization.
What do we know about the Delhi riots in 2020?
Riots had erupted in Northeast Delhi on February 23, 2020. 53 people have lost their lives and many hundreds were injured in the riots.
