Supreme Court seeks State’s response to bail plea of Delhi Riots conspiracy accused Khalid Saifi

The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought the Delhi government's response to a bail plea filed by Khalid Saifi, an accused in the 2020 Delhi Riots conspiracy case [Khalid Saifi vs. State of Delhi].

A Bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and PB Varale issued notice to the State on Saifi's plea and tagged it with a similar plea filed by co-accused Tasleem Ahmed.

However, the Court rejected Saifi's contention of claiming parity with co-accused Gulfisha Fatima and four others who were granted bail by the top court earlier this year.

Saifi was denied bail by a special court on April 8, 2025. The special court had opined that the allegations against Saifi were prima facie true.

He had then approached the Delhi High Court.

The High Court denied him bail on September 2, 2025, resulting in the present appeal before the top court.

Saifi was arrested by the Delhi Police in February 2020, soon after the Delhi Riots that led to death of more than 50 people. Saifi was charged with several offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), after the police alleged that he was involved in planning the Delhi Riots along with other co-conspirators like Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam.

The police alleged that Saifi used the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the national capital as a front.

Saifi was represented by advocate Yash S Vijay.