HC denies Athar Khan’s bail plea in Delhi riots larger conspiracy case

New DelhiThe Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to accused Athar Khan in the alleged larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, observing that he was “not merely a local-level operative” but one of the main conspirators behind the deaths caused during the riots

New Delhi

A bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain observed that Khan’s role was distinct from that of the co-accused. (Representative photo)

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday denied bail to accused Athar Khan in the alleged larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, observing that he was “not merely a local-level operative” but one of the main conspirators behind the deaths caused during the riots.

A bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain observed that Khan’s role was distinct from that of the co-accused—Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed and Gulfisha Fatima—who were granted bail by the Supreme Court in January 2026. Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were denied bail.

The court, while denying Khan bail, took note of the messages allegedly repeatedly sent by Khan on the DPSG group, observing that they were “extremely incriminating”. It held that the messages prima facie indicated his active involvement not only in the riots and the destruction of property, but also in the deaths that occurred during the violence.

Northeast Delhi erupted in violence on February 23, 2020, following clashes between Hindus and Muslims over the then-proposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) that left 53 dead and hundreds injured.

In its 31-page verdict, the court observed that the statement of protected witness “Pluto”, who alleged that Khan had encouraged, exhorted and led others to commit arson and perpetrate violence resulting in deaths, showed that he was “not merely a local-level operator but one of the main conspirators who conspired to cause deaths during the riots.” It held that his role was, therefore, “clearly distinguishable” from that of the other co-accused.

“The prosecution’s case is that the Appellant was an active conspirator... the said WhatsApp chats would also show that in some places the Appellant has sent some extremely incriminating messages which prove an active role not just in causing riots, destruction of property, etc., but an active role in the deaths which have been caused during the riots,” the court said.

“The role of Athar Khan, which has in fact been more than prima facie established from the chats recovered from Ovais Sultan Khan, would indicate that while others were suggesting that he resort only to non-violent protests, he persisted with his objective of engaging in violent protests, to the extent of even causing death,” it said.

The court said that releasing the appellant on bail at this stage would, in effect, mean that he could also threaten witnesses and could disrupt the trial as well. It also observed that despite his teammates repeatedly asking him not to engage in violence, the appellant refused to obey them.

Khan was arrested by the Delhi police on July 2, 2020, and booked by the Delhi police under UAPA.

Khan, moving the high court against the trial court’s January 2026 order, asserted that his case was “squarely covered” as per the Supreme Court’s verdict, granting bail to the five co-accused.

The Delhi Police, represented by additional solicitor general SV Raju, along with advocate Dhruv Pande, opposed the bail. The law officer asserted that Khan fell within the category of accused persons alleged to have played a serious role in the conspiracy and, therefore, was not entitled to bail.