# Delhi Police opposes fresh bail pleas by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam 2026-08-26T17:06:38+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets Delhi Police has opposed fresh bail pleas by Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, calling them 'illegal' and an attempt to mislead the court. In affidavits filed before the Delhi High Court, the police said there has been no change in circumstances since the Supreme Court's January order denied bail to both under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The police cited the apex court's ruling in the Gulfisha Fatima case, which granted bail to five co-accused but refused Khalid and Imam, describing them as 'masterminds' of the riots. The police argued that the accused cannot rely on a subsequent Supreme Court judgment in the Syed Iftikhar Andrabi case, which they claim is unrelated to the Delhi riots. The trial court had earlier rejected their third bail applications, noting that the Supreme Court's January order had put an 'embargo' against granting bail to Khalid and Imam unless protected witnesses are examined or one year elapses. The High Court issued notice on the pleas last month and will hear the matter along with pending bail petitions. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both sources offer straight reporting on the police's opposition, with no discernible editorial slant. The coverage is uniform: the police argue no change in circumstances, cite the Supreme Court's January order, and dismiss the relevance of the Andrabi judgment. The key difference is that livelaw.in provides more legal background on the trial court's reasoning and the larger bench referral, while Times of India focuses on the police's wording. The balanced reading: the bail battle turns on whether the Supreme Court's own referral of the issue to a larger bench constitutes a material change in circumstance, a question the High Court will now decide. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - livelaw.in (neutral report) Straight legal reporting with extensive background, no slant - timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report) Straight news agency style reporting, no editorial slant This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-26T19:31:46+00:00. Tags: 2020 Delhi riots, Delhi High Court, Delhi Police, Sharjeel Imam, UAPA, Umar Khalid Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/delhi-police-opposes-umar-khalid-sharjeel-imam-bail-pleas-in-high-court/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/delhi-police-opposes-umar-khalid-sharjeel-imam-bail-pleas-in-high-court/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/