Former JNU student and activist Umar Khalid was taken into custody by police at Red Fort in New Delhi (2020) (Image Credit: PTI)

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices on the bail pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shifa Ur Rehman in connection with the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots.Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and A M Singhvi argued that it was shocking students had remained in jail for over five years, urging the Supreme Court to hear their bail pleas before Diwali so they could be released ahead of the festival. The court has scheduled the matter for hearing on October 7.A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Manmohan on Friday deferred the matter, which challenges a Delhi high court order denying them bail. Earlier this month, the high court dismissed bail applications filed by Imam, Khalid and seven others — Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima. The bail plea of another accused, Tasleem Ahmed, was rejected by a separate bench.

Former JNU student and activist Umar Khalid addresses during a protest against the proposed fee hike in Jawaharlal Nehru University, in New Delhi, on November 23, 2019. (Times Content Photo/ TOI Archives)

Delhi Police have opposed their release, arguing that the violence was not spontaneous but the result of a “larger conspiracy” planned in advance to foment unrest. They allege Imam and Khalid delivered inflammatory speeches to mobilise crowds along communal lines. The high court, while rejecting their bail, observed that the role of both was “grave” in the alleged conspiracy.

What happened in 2020

The case is tied to the violence that broke out in north-east Delhi in February 2020 amid protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). The clashes, among the worst communal riots the capital had seen in decades, left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. Imam was arrested under UAPA in 2020 and named by police as a key conspirator. Khalid, also arrested later that year, has been in custody since.