New Delhi

The Supreme Court on Monday refused bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots conspiracy case, while granting bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider and others, observing a “hierarchy of participation” among the accused.

According to the Delhi Police, the riots were the outcome of a pre-planned conspiracy allegedly orchestrated by Khalid along with his associates.

Umar Khalid:

Police alleged that Khalid delivered provocative speeches calling upon people to come out on the streets and block roads during the visit of then US President Donald Trump on February 24 and 25, 2020.
The objective, investigators claimed, was to internationalise a narrative that minorities in India were being ill-treated and persecuted.

Khalid allegedly held a “secret meeting” in Seelampur in January 2020 with Gulfisha Fatima, Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and others, during which he purportedly instructed participants to mobilise local women to stockpile knives, bottles, acid, stones, chilli powder and other objects to engineer violence.

Sharjeel Imam:

Police said Imam was involved in deliberate mobilisation, radicalisation and preparation of ground conditions through organised chakka jams, blockade of arterial roads and disruption of essential services.

He allegedly created and administered a WhatsApp group titled ‘Muslim Students of JNU’, which functioned as a coordinating mechanism for mobilisation and identification of protest sites.

Imam is also accused of participating in conspiratorial meetings at Jangpura and within the JNU campus ecosystem, where strategies for escalation of protests were discussed.

Investigators said his role was not geographically confined to Delhi, as he allegedly travelled to Aligarh and other locations as a mobiliser and ideologue. Police further claimed he played a decisive role in the creation and sustenance of the Shaheen Bagh protest site, which evolved into a prolonged 24x7 blockade of a major arterial road.

According to the prosecution, Imam’s role was foundational and preparatory, and liability for conspiracy does not require physical presence at the scene of violence once the plan has been set in motion.

Other accused:

Gulfisha Fatima was accused of acting as a key coordinator who allegedly helped transform peaceful sit-ins into violent demonstrations.

Meeran Haider, a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee, was alleged to have overseen multiple protest sites, collected funds and encouraged attacks on police personnel and non-Muslims.

Shifa Ur Rehman, president of the Jamia Millia Islamia Alumni Association and a member of the Jamia Coordination Committee, was alleged to have functioned as a key financier and logistics facilitator.

Mohd. Saleem Khan was accused of playing a pivotal local role in executing the conspiracy at Chand Bagh and adjoining areas.

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Shadab Ahmad was alleged to be an active member of the Delhi Protest Support Group network and to have worked in concert with other core conspirators to escalate protests into disruptive chakka jams and subsequently into violent riots, particularly in Chand Bagh.