Supreme Court Verdict On Granting Bail Sparks Anguish As Delhi Riots Victim Demands Accountability

A Delhi riots victim urged strict justice for all instigators after the Supreme Court granted bail to five accused.

New Delhi: Ram Sugarat Paswan, who lost his son during the 2020 Delhi riots, responded on Monday to the Supreme Court’s decision to grant bail to five accused, underlining the need to hold the real perpetrators accountable.

Paswan further said he had no objection to bail being granted if the accused were genuinely innocent, but insisted that those who actually instigated the violence must face punishment. Recalling the events, he said his son, Nitin Paswan, was killed on February 26, 2020. While riots had been ongoing for days, markets had reopened that day and Nitin had stepped out to buy groceries when a police bullet struck him in the head. He was rushed to hospital but later succumbed to his injuries.

“We don’t oppose bail for those who are not involved. But everyone responsible for provoking the riots must be brought to justice,” Paswan said.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in a case linked to an alleged larger conspiracy behind the northeast Delhi riots, while granting bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad. The court observed that Khalid and Imam were on a “qualitatively different footing” due to the nature of evidence and the prosecution’s case, noting that their roles were central to the alleged offences.

The bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria delivered the verdict, which had been reserved on December 10 after extensive hearings. Earlier, on September 2, 2025, the Delhi High Court had rejected bail pleas of nine accused, including Khalid and Imam, citing the gravity of their alleged roles and inflammatory speeches that, it said, prima facie contributed to mass mobilisation.

The accused were arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the February 2020 violence, which erupted during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens. The riots claimed 53 lives and left more than 700 people injured.