Former JNU scholar Umar Khalid and student activist Sharjeel Imam, accused in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots conspiracy case, have approached the Supreme Court again seeking bail, arguing that their continued incarceration is unjustified as the trial has made little progress and the prosecution has yet to examine any witness.

In separate petitions filed on Wednesday, they said the one-year restriction imposed by the Supreme Court while denying them bail on January 5 is nearing its end, but the examination of protected witnesses is unlikely to be completed by then, Hindustan Times reported on Friday.

The January 5 order had allowed the two to renew their bail pleas after the examination of protected witnesses or the expiry of one year, whichever came earlier. The court had distinguished their cases from those of five other accused who were granted bail, observing that the roles attributed to Khalid and Imam stood on a “qualitatively different footing”.

The two subsequently moved the Delhi High Court, which rejected their bail pleas on September 30, citing the one-year restriction set by the apex court.

In their latest petitions, Khalid and Imam have highlighted that they have been behind bars for more than six years, while the prosecution has not examined even one of the over 900 witnesses listed in the case. The prosecution has identified 47 of them as protected witnesses.

They argued that “no fair assessment can examination of protected witnesses be expected to commence, much less to conclude, before January 5, 2027, or for a considerable period thereafter.”

They further contended that, under these circumstances, “continued detention is no longer process-oriented and becomes punitive by reason of unreasonable and unjustified delay.”

Khalid filed his petition through advocate N Sai Vinod, while Imam approached the apex court through advocate Fauzia Shakil.

The petitioners also pointed out that the case remains at the stage of arguments on charge. Although arguments on framing charges concluded on July 13, the trial has not moved forward because the trial judge decided to wait for the Supreme Court's decision on a co-accused's plea seeking permission to inspect unrelied documents. The apex court reserved its judgment in that matter on September 1.

The 2020 riots erupted in north-east Delhi amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. The violence began on February 24, 2020, coinciding with US President Donald Trump's visit to India. Police alleged that the riots were deliberately timed to attract international attention.

Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020, and has remained in custody since then. Imam was arrested in January 2020 in a separate hate speech case in Bihar before being formally arrested in the Delhi riots case on August 25, 2020.

The Delhi riots case involves 18 accused. While Khalid and Imam remain in prison, the Supreme Court's January 5 order granted bail to five others: Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammad Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed.

The Delhi Police have charged the accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Of the 18 accused, only five, including Khalid and Imam, remain in jail.