Delhi Riots Bail Hearing Adjourned

The India — Supreme Court of India has adjourned the hearing on bail pleas for activists Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, and others involved in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case to September 22, 2025. The accused are challenging a September 2 India — Delhi High Court order that denied them bail, citing their 'prima facie grave' roles in a 'premeditated, well-orchestrated conspiracy' masked as protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The India — Delhi Police, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, allege that the activists were the 'masterminds' of the violence, which resulted in 53 deaths and over 700 injuries. The India — Delhi High Court also noted that the riots were 'deliberately timed' to coincide with then U.S. President Donald Trump's visit. Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, who have been in pre-trial detention for over five and a half years and since September 2020 respectively, are seeking bail on grounds of prolonged incarceration and systemic delays in the trial. Their lawyers, including Abhishek Singhvi for Sharjeel Imam and Kapil Sibal for Umar Khalid, also argue for parity with co-accused like Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Asif Iqbal Tanha, and Ishrat Jahan, who have already been granted bail.