Delhi Court Grants Interim Bail to Accused Sharjeel Imam Amid Six Years in Prison, Allowing him to Attend his Cousin’s Wedding

Key Points:

THE KARKARDOOMA COURT on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, granted an interim bail to Sharjeel Imam, who has been in custody since January 28, 2020, with charges of inciting riots, propagating hate speech, treason and sedition, alongside the allegations of being one of the co-conspirators of the 2020 Delhi riots. Currently, he is in prison slapped with the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). 

See Also: Delhi Court Rejects Bail Pleas of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam in 2020 Riots Conspiracy Case

The current interim bail grants him a temporary release from October 4 to October 10, 2026, enabling him to attend his cousin’s wedding. However, this is not the first time Sharjeel has received a temporary relief. Earlier, he received an interim bail from March 20 to March 30, 2026, on the account of his younger brother’s wedding and to look after his ailing mother.

The Criminal Case and Delhi Court’s Grant

Additional Sessions Judge of the Karkardooma Court, Sameer Bajpai, granted Sharjeel the temporary release, with his regular bail plea set to be placed in the Delhi high court on September 30, 2026. 

Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid and a bunch of other student activists had been deeply involved in the Anti-CAA-NRC protests in 2019-2020. It was a period when people from different parts of the country were protesting against the citizenship amendment laws. Situation in the National Capital turned tense, and cases of riots ensued in northeast Delhi. It was then, that student activists, Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, Isharat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fastima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Faizan Khan, Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal were accused, alongside Imam and Khalid. 

See Also: ‘Bail is the Rule, Even Under UAPA’: SC Questions Earlier Judgement Denying Bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam

Mr. Tanha, Ms. Zagar, Ms. Kalita, Ms. Narwal and a number of other accused have been granted bail by different courts over time. However, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam had been in jail for almost six years now, charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) with sections 13, 16, 17 and 18 under UAPA. Their recent regular bail pleas were also rejected by a Delhi court on July 4, 2026, and are set to be heard on September 30, 2026. A division bench comprising Pratibha M. Singh and Justice Dinesh Bhatt adjourned the matter which was supposed to be heard on September 21, 2026. 

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