New Delhi: Activists Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid moved fresh bail applications Saturday before a court in the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, citing prolonged incarceration and delay in trial.The pleas were filed before additional sessions judge Sumedh Kumar Sethi after a Supreme Court bench in May questioned the interpretation of its earlier judgment that was relied upon to deny them bail in Jan 2026. The trial court sought a response from Delhi Police and listed the matter on July 4.Khalid submitted that he had spent nearly six years in custody without charges being framed and the trial was unlikely to start in the near future considering the large number of accused, witnesses and documents relied upon by the prosecution.Referring to the apex court’s observations in its May 18 order in a terror-related case, Khalid also argued that subsequent judicial developments constituted a “change in circumstances”, making the current bail plea maintainable despite rejection of his earlier application.He also cited several Supreme Court precedents to contend that statutory restrictions on bail under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) cannot override constitutional protections where trial is unlikely to conclude within a reasonable time.Imam’s application also stated that there was no “significant development” in the proceedings even six months after the Supreme Court judgment denying him bail and that he had remained in custody for nearly six years. The plea argued that subsequent Supreme Court judgments had clarified the legal position regarding grant of bail in UAPA cases involving long incarceration. It also contended that Imam was not in Delhi after the second week of Jan 2020 and was already in custody in another case before the riots broke out in Feb that year.On Jan 5, the Supreme Court denied bail to Khalid and Imam while granting relief to a few co-accused.
