A Delhi court has granted 10-day interim bail to student activist Sharjeel Imam, who is an accused in the conspiracy case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. The relief allows him to attend his brother’s wedding and care for his ailing mother during the temporary release period.
The order comes several months after the Supreme Court of India declined to grant regular bail to Imam and co-accused Umar Khalid in January. The apex court had held that the prosecution had placed enough material on record to establish a prima facie case suggesting their involvement in the alleged conspiracy.
Imam is among multiple individuals named in the larger conspiracy case connected to the communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020. The riots resulted in 53 deaths and left more than 700 people injured, marking one of the most serious episodes of unrest in the national capital in recent years.
The investigation is being carried out by the Delhi Police, which has alleged that the violence was the outcome of a pre-planned and coordinated conspiracy aimed at disturbing public order during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
While denying bail to Imam and Khalid earlier, the Supreme Court had taken a different view in the case of five other accused — Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed — granting them bail on the grounds that their alleged roles differed from those attributed to Imam and Khalid.
Imam and several others in the case have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act along with provisions of the former Indian Penal Code. Investigators have maintained that certain accused individuals acted as key planners in the alleged conspiracy, citing speeches and related material as evidence.
