New Delhi: The Supreme Court dismissed the review petition filed by activist Umar Khalid challenging the denial of bail in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.
A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria, in an order dated April 16, uploaded recently, said, “Prayer for oral hearing in the review petition is rejected. Delay condoned. Having gone through the review petition and also the documents enclosed, we do not find any good ground and reason to review the judgment dated 05.01.2026. Accordingly, the review petition is dismissed. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.”
Last week, Khalid moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of a verdict that denied him bail while observing that there were reasonable grounds to believe the allegations levelled against him in connection with the conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared in court for Khalid, requested a bench of justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria to list the review petition in open court. Sibal contended before the bench that the matter is coming up for consideration before the judges in chambers on April 16. Sibal said an application has been moved for an open-court hearing.
Justice Kumar said, “We will look into the papers. If required, we will call it.” According to the Supreme Court’s rules, review petitions are considered by judges who delivered a judgment or passed an order in chambers to remedy an apparent error or a resultant grave injustice that resulted from a decision of the apex court.
Parties seeking a review can request judges for an open-court hearing to rectify the grave injustice caused by the decision under review.
On January 5, the Supreme Court refused to grant bail to activists Umar Khalid and activist Sharjeel Imam in the alleged larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots. The apex court said the prosecution material taken at face value discloses a prima facie attribution of a central and formative role by the appellants and it is not persuaded that on the present record, continued detention has crossed the threshold of constitutional impermissibility.
A bench comprising justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria said that the statutory threshold stands attracted qua these appellants, and added, “this stage of the proceedings does not justify their enlargement on bail.”
The apex court said Khalid and Imam stand on a qualitatively different footing as compared to the other accused and ordered the release of five other co-accused after drawing a clear distinction in their alleged roles. The other accused in the case are Gulfisha Fatima, Meera Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed.
