New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Friday adjourned the hearing on the bail pleas of student activists Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, and three other co-accused in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. The hearing was deferred after Justice Manmohan recused himself from the bench, which will now require the case to be re-listed before a new bench.
The bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Manmohan was scheduled to hear the petitions. However, the hearing was halted when a briefing counsel informed the court that senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represents Umar Khalid, does not appear before Justice Manmohan. Justice Manmohan had previously worked as a junior in Sibal’s chambers, prompting his recusal to avoid a potential conflict of interest. The matter will now be placed before the Chief Justice of India for fresh listing before an appropriate bench.
This marks the second consecutive adjournment for the petitioners. On September 12, the same bench had postponed the hearing, stating that the voluminous case records had been delivered to their residences past midnight, leaving them with insufficient time to review the documents.
The bail pleas were filed by Imam, Khalid, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, and Shifa-ur-Rehman, challenging a Delhi High Court order that had dismissed their bail applications on September 2. The High Court had held that their roles in the alleged conspiracy were “prima facie grave” and had rejected their pleas under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The High Court had observed that “conspiratorial violence” in the name of protest cannot be allowed, stating it falls outside the ambit of free speech.
The petitioners have been in custody since 2020 (Imam since January and Khalid since September). Their lawyers, including senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Kapil Sibal, have argued that their prolonged incarceration amounts to a punishment without trial, especially since the trial proceedings are far from conclusion with multiple supplementary charge sheets and a large number of witnesses still to be examined. They have also sought bail on the grounds of parity with other co-accused, such as Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who were granted bail in 2021.
Delhi Police, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, has maintained that the accused were the “intellectual architects” of a well-orchestrated conspiracy. They have cited inflammatory speeches and other evidence to argue that the accused played a central role in mobilizing protests that culminated in the riots, which claimed 53 lives and left hundreds injured. The High Court had sided with the prosecution, noting that the absence of Imam and Khalid from the riot sites was immaterial given their alleged role in the planning and mobilization.