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The judge accepted the bail bonds but called for a formal verification report from the police, to be submitted by Wednesday
While the defence counsel argued that the verification was unnecessary given that the sureties were close relatives living at the same addresses, the court maintained its stance. (Representational image)
A Delhi court on Tuesday issued a rare order directing the police to verify the bail bonds and surety documents of four activists accused in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. The order came just twenty-four hours after the Supreme Court had granted the individuals bail, marking a historic turning point in a case that has seen some defendants incarcerated for over five years.
The four individuals affected by the order are Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, and Mohammad Saleem Khan. They appeared before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai at the Karkardooma Court to submit personal bonds of Rs 2 lakh each, along with two local sureties of a similar amount, as mandated by the apex court.
In a departure from standard practice for long-term detainees, the judge accepted the bonds but called for a formal verification report from the police, to be submitted by Wednesday. This rare move effectively delayed their release by at least a day. A fifth accused, Shadab Ahmad, who was also granted bail by the Supreme Court on Monday, did not appear before the trial court on Tuesday to furnish his documents.
The intervention by the trial court follows the Supreme Court’s landmark judgement on Monday, which drew a sharp distinction between the roles of the seventeen accused in the “larger conspiracy” case (FIR 59/2020). A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria granted bail to five co-accused, noting that their alleged roles were “facilitative” or “subsidiary” in nature.
Conversely, the apex court denied bail to high-profile activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, whom the prosecution has labelled the “intellectual architects” and “masterminds” of the violence. The court ruled that Khalid and Imam stood on a “qualitatively different footing”, as the material on record suggested they had central, directive roles in orchestrating the protests that escalated into communal riots, leaving 53 people dead.
The release of the four activists is subject to stringent conditions, including the surrender of their passports and a prohibition on leaving the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi without prior court permission. They are also barred from contacting any witnesses or participating in activities linked to the organisations named in the chargesheet.
While the defence counsel argued that the verification was unnecessary given that the sureties were close relatives living at the same addresses, the court maintained its stance. With the verification report due on Wednesday morning, the four activists—who have been in custody since mid-2020—are expected to finally walk free, even as their “mastermind” co-accused remain behind bars pending a renewed bail window in one year.
January 07, 2026, 05:42 IST
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