New Delhi [India], September 6 : Sharjeel Imam on Saturday approached the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order, which denied him bail in the UAPA case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.
The Delhi High Court on September 2, had denied bail to Imam and eight others - Umar Khalid, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Abdul Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima.
Delhi Police had opposed the pleas, saying it was not a case of spontaneous riots but a case where riots were "planned well in advance" with a "sinister motive and well-thought-out conspiracy".
The High Court had observed that, prima facie, the role of Imam and Khalid in the entire conspiracy was "grave", having delivered inflammatory speeches on communal lines to "instigate mass mobilisation of members of the Muslim community."
Imam sought bail from the apex court in the larger conspiracy case under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Delhi riots case in February 2020.
In 2020, the Delhi police arrested Imam under the UAPA and named him the main conspirator behind the Delhi riots case.
The violence had erupted during the protests against the then-proposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) and had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.