The Delhi High Court (HC) is set to hear the bail pleas of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid and student activist Sharjeel Imam in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case related to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi Communal riots today, on Thursday, December 12.

Umar Khalid, who has been in jail for over four years, filed his fourth bail plea on December 6, 2024. This marks his second attempt for bail before the Delhi High Court after the court had previously rejected his request in October 2022.

During the previous hearing on Friday, December 6, Khalid was questioned before Delhi High Court the basis on which police made him an accused in a UAPA case.

“There was a meeting; bulk of the meeting is not an accused. How am I an accused? There are two from the meeting who are accused? One Sharjeel Imam and myself. How are we accused when others are not?” said senior advocate Trideep Pais, arguing for Khalid.

Sharjeel Imam was arrested by authorities on January 28, 2020, on charges of inciting communal violence through speeches he made during peaceful protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in December 2019 and January 2020.

The student leader spent more than four years in custody before being granted bail by the Delhi High Court on May 29, 2024. However, additional charges filed against him in the larger conspiracy case have delayed his release from prison.

On October 25, the Supreme Court declined to entertain Sharjeel Imam's bail plea but directed the Delhi High Court to hear it on an expedited basis.