4 Years to Delhi Riots: What's the Status of 18 Accused in FIR 59 Under UAPA?

Four years on, 12 accused continue to be incarcerated, with their bail pleas having been rejected multiple times.

A total of 758 First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered linked to the riots. Of these, FIR 59, which charged 18 accused for allegedly planning a “larger conspiracy” in the 2020 Delhi riots, is being probed by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

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Four years ago, in February 2020, the streets of Northeast Delhi were rocked by the worst communal clashes in the national capital in decades, which killed 53 people and injured hundreds.

The riots, which went on for three days, wreaked havoc in Khajuri Khas, Bhajanpura, Gokulpuri, and Jaffrabad areas of the city. Many homes were wrecked in the national capital, shops were vandalised, and vehicles were set ablaze. Eight mosques, two temples, two madrasas, and one dargah bore the brunt of the violence.

The riots had followed months-long protests against the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) across different parts of the city. 

The Delhi Police had arrested 2,619 people in connection with the riots. Of these, 2,094 are currently out on bail and 172 people are lodged in jail, according to police data quoted by The Times of India.

A total of 758 First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered. Of these, FIR 59, registered in 2020, charged 18 accused for allegedly planning a “larger conspiracy” in the 2020 riots, and is being probed by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.

The accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860 and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967.  Four years on, six are out on bail while the remaining 12 continue to languish in jails, with their bail pleas having been heard and rejected several times in the last 48 months.

The Quint brings you a status check on the ongoing cases against the 18 accused.

Khalid Saifi, 42: Member of ‘United Against Hate’

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Khalid Saifi was arrested on 21 March 2020 and had three FIRs registered against him for his alleged involvement in the Delhi riots. While Saifi was granted bail in two of these cases, he remains in jail due to FIR 59. His bail plea was first rejected by the trial court on 8 April 2022. The case is now being heard afresh in the Delhi High Court after a change in the bench in November 2023.  

During a hearing on 6 February, while his counsel Rebecca John stated that Saifi has been in custody without charges being framed in a trial court, the Division Bench, too, expressed its dissatisfaction with the prosecution for putting forth “seemingly endless arguments.” 

John also claimed Saifi was a victim of custodial torture. He has spent over 1,450 days in jail. 

Sharjeel Imam, 35: Student Activist from Bihar  

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Sharjeel Imam, an IIT graduate who later turned into history student at JNU, was accused of inciting violence after his speech at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) on 16 January 2020 went viral, during the CAA protests. He was arrested on 28 January 2020 and nearly seven months after, Imam was charged with new offences and added to FIR 59.  

His bail plea was first rejected over two years ago. On 17 February, his plea for statutory bail under Section 436A of the CrPC was rejected by a Delhi court. According to Section 436A of the CrPC, one can be released from custody if he has spent more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence.

Imam’s counsel argued that since he has spent four years in jail out of the maximum sentence of seven years prescribed under Section 13 of the UAPA (not including sedition after the Supreme Court’s stay on it), he was eligible for statutory bail. 

Imam’s appeal against the framing of charges is set for a hearing at the Delhi High Court on 8 March. He has spent nearly 1,500 days in jail. 

Meeran Haider, 32: RJD Youth Wing Leader 

Meeran Haider, a PhD scholar at Jamia Millia Islamia and president of the youth wing of Rashtriya Janata Dal’s (RJD’s) Delhi unit, was arrested on 1 April 2020. The Delhi Police have accused him of funding the riots. His bail plea was denied by a Delhi court on 5 April 2022 and is pending before the Delhi High Court.

A change in the bench (Justice Sidharth Mridul was elevated as the Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court) in November 2023 has led to the matter being heard afresh this year. Haider has spent nearly 1,400 days in jail. 

Umar Khalid, 36: Former JNU Student Leader 

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Umar Khalid was arrested on 13 September 2020 under the UAPA for allegedly being a “key conspirator” in the 2020 Delhi riots. His bail plea was first denied by a trial court on 24 March 2022, and then by the Delhi High Court on 18 October 2022. Khalid was granted a week-long interim bail on 12 December 2022 but with strict gag orders.   

He had filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court in April last year, but the matter – adjourned at least 13 times – hasn’t had a significant hearing since then. On 14 February, Khalid withdrew his bail plea due to "change in circumstances" and stated that he will seek bail afresh in a trial court. He has spent nearly 1,250 days in prison.

Gulfisha Fatima, 31: Activist 

Gulfisha Fatima, a former Delhi University student, an MBA graduate, and a radio jockey, was arrested on 9 April 2020. She was slapped with four cases linked to the Delhi riots but has been granted bail in all, except FIR 59. Two months after her arrest, her parents had filed a Habeus corpus petition in the Delhi High Court, but it was dismissed.  

She was denied bail in October 2020 and then again in March 2022. A year later, a division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar reserved orders in the bail plea filed by her before the Delhi High Court. But a change of bench in November 2023 has caused the matter to be heard afresh this year. Fatima has spent nearly 1,400 days in jail. 

Shifa-ur-Rehman, 46: President of Alumni Association of Jamia Millia Islamia

Rehman was arrested on 26 April 2020. His bail was rejected by a trial court two years later. On 9 January, the Delhi High Court asked the Delhi Police to file a comparative chart to distinguish the role of Shifa-ur-Rehman with that of those granted bail by the court in 2021. He has spent over 1,400 days in jail. 

Tasleem Ahmed, 36: Education consultant

Ahmed was arrested on 24 June 2020 and has been incarcerated since. His bail plea was first rejected by a Delhi court on 16 March 2022 and then again on Thursday, 22 February, when the additional sessions judge Sameer Bajpai reaffirmed the previous observations of the previous order that allegations against Ahmed in the “larger conspiracy” case are prima facie true.  

Ahmed has been in prison for at least 1,337 days.

Tahir Hussain, 42: Former AAP Councillor  

Tahir Hussain was arrested on 6 April 2020 and has remained incarcerated under FIR 59 despite being granted bail in five other cases related to the Delhi riots in July 2022. Last year in September, he was granted bail in another case but has been in jail for nearly 1,400 days. 

Salim Malik: Activist

Malik was arrested on 25 June 2020 and his bail was denied in October 2022 by a Delhi court, saying he attended "conspiratorial meetings" to plan the riots. A month later, the appeal was then listed before the Delhi High Court.

In December last year, he had appealed for an interim bail – for paying the fee of one of his sons and meet the other one who is reportedly undergoing treatment for tuberculosis – but it was rejected by a trial court.

On 9 January, the Delhi High Court asked the Delhi Police to file a comparative chart to distinguish Malik’s role from those who have been granted bail by the court in 2021. He has spent nearly 1,340 days in prison. 

Athar Khan, 27: Worked in a Delhi-based telecom company

Khan was arrested on 2 July 2020 and his bail plea is pending in the Delhi High Court after the trial court rejected it in October 2022. The matter is being heard afresh after a change of bench in November last year. He has spent 1,330 days in jail. 

Shadab Ahmad, 29: A Computer Graduate

Ahmad, who reportedly worked as a factory supervisor in Delhi, was arrested on 20 May 2020 and has been incarcerated since. In December last year, he had appealed for an interim bail for not less than 90 days on medical grounds. But the court observed that he was being given “proper care for tuberculosis in jail” and rejected his bail plea. He has spent 1,373 days in jail.  

Salim Khan, 50: Owner of Garment Export Unit 

Khan, who reportedly owns a garment export unit in the same locality where the riots broke out, was arrested on 13 March 2020. His bail plea was denied by a trial court two years later. His bail plea is being heard afresh by the Delhi High Court after a change in the bench in November last year.  

Khan has been in jail for 1,335 days except for an interim relied of two weeks granted to him in on 21 November 2023 to support his daughter financially in setting up a dental clinic.  

Those Who Were Granted Bail...

While Mohammed Faizan Khan, a mobile salesman, was arrested on 29 June 2020, he was let out on bail four months later. Safoora Zargar, a student activist from Jamia Millia Islamia, was arrested on 13 April 2020 and was granted bail nearly two months later on humanitarian grounds, as she was six months pregnant by then.  

Former Congress councillor and advocate Ishrat Jahan was arrested on 21 March 2020 and granted bail by a sessions court after spending two years in jail. 

JNU research scholars and gender rights activists, who co-founded the ‘Pinjra Tod’ movement, Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita were granted bail by the Delhi High Court on 15 June 2021 after spending over a year in jail. 

Asif Iqbal Tanha, former student activist from Jamia Millia Islamia and member of Students Islamic Organisation of India, was arrested on 19 May 2020 and granted bail by the Delhi High Court nearly 13 months later. 

Please note: The number of days is calculated taking an average of 30.5 days for 12 months in a year.