“Shocking, Shameful”: Prashant Bhushan on denial of bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam
New Delhi: Senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan on Monday criticised the Supreme Court’s decision to deny bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, calling the order “shocking, unfair and unjust”.
In a post on X, Bhushan said the two activists have not been accused of committing violence themselves but are facing charges of conspiracy under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He pointed out that both Khalid and Imam have spent nearly five years in jail without trial, despite there being multiple videos of their speeches in which, according to him, they speak against violence.
Bhushan also questioned the court’s reliance on police statements of “protected witnesses”, whose identities have been concealed. “Yet the Supreme Court denies bail on the basis of police statements of protected witnesses. Shameful, and makes a mockery of the right to life and liberty,” he said in his post.
The remarks came after the Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to Khalid and Imam, observing that a prima facie case under the UAPA is made out against them. A bench of the apex court said it was satisfied that the prosecution material disclosed sufficient grounds at this stage and that statutory restrictions on bail under the UAPA applied. The court noted that granting bail would not be appropriate at this point in the proceedings.
The case relates to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 communal violence in northeast Delhi, which left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. Khalid, Imam and several others have been charged under the UAPA and provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being “masterminds” of the riots, which broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens.
While denying bail to Khalid and Imam, the Supreme Court granted bail to five other accused in the same case, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed. The bench clarified that bail decisions cannot be based on a uniform standard and must take into account the individual role and level of alleged involvement of each accused. It also observed that Article 21 of the Constitution requires the state to justify prolonged pre-trial detention.
Following the ruling, Khalid’s partner Banojyotsna Lahiri said the activist was relieved that some of the co-accused had secured bail, even though his own plea had been rejected. Khalid and Imam were arrested in 2020 and have remained in judicial custody since then, with their bail pleas having been rejected earlier by the Delhi High Court as well.
It is totally shocking, unfair & unjust for the SC to deny bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjil Imam. They have not been accused of violence themselves, but of Conspiracy. There are multiple videos of their speeches, where they speak against violence.
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) January 5, 2026
They have spent 5 years in Jail…
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‘You will rise, Umar Khalid’: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra pens poem for student-activist
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has penned a poem, ‘You will rise, Umar Khalid’, for activist Umar Khalid, who is accused of being involved in a conspiracy behind the Delhi riots of 2020 and was recently denied bail by the Supreme Court.
Sharing the poem on her ‘X’ account on Wednesday, Moitra has written, “You may write me down in history With your bitter, twisted lies, You may trod me in the very dirt But still, like dust, I'll rise… You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I’ll rise. (sic)”
Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, former JNU student-activists, were denied bail by the apex court on Monday in the Delhi riot case, while five others, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, and Mohd. Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad, were granted bail.
A group of JNU students had earlier allegedly shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Home Minister Amit Shah on the JNU campus after denial of bail to Khalid and Imam, drawing sharp criticism from senior BJP leaders.
