No bail to 2020 Delhi riots accused Athar Khan; HC says ‘can influence witnesses’

3 min readUpdated: Jul 7, 2026 01:31 PM IST

On February 24, 2020, a communal riot had erupted on a service road near Chand Bagh on Wazirabad Road in Delhi. (Source: Express Archives)

The Delhi High Court Tuesday refused to grant bail to Athar Khan, one of the accused in 2020 Northeast Delhi riots ‘larger conspiracy’ case, noting that his role has “prima facie been established in causing death and violence as also the destruction of private and public property”.

The division bench of Justices Prathiba Singh and Madhu Jain, taking into consideration that Athar had not challenged earlier bail rejection orders, as well as statements of witnesses, pronounced in open court that if released on bail, he is also likely to influence witnesses.

The bench further observed that Athar would not qualify for bail “even if the normal conditions of bail are applied.

A detailed order remains to be made public.

Athar was arrested in July 2020.

In January, the trial court had rejected Athar’s bail plea, along with two other co-accused in the larger conspiracy case — Tahir Hussain and Salim Malik. In May, Malik was granted bail by the same bench of the Delhi HC.

According to the prosecution, Athar, along with co-accused Mohd Saleem Khan and Salim Malik alias Munna, had destroyed or covered government-installed-CCTV cameras so they could allegedly operate fearlessly.

Both Malik and Athar, in their bail pleas before the Delhi HC, claimed parity with the co-accused in the case who were granted bail by the Supreme Court in January.

While Malik claimed parity with accused Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed, Athar claimed parity with Mohd Saleem Khan.

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Both Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed were among the five granted bail by the SC on January 5.

The SC, while granting bail to five and refusing bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, had identified a hierarchy between “architects” and “facilitators” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act charges. The SC had rejected the pleas of Imam and Khalid, placing them in the first category, and the remaining five in the second category.

The “larger conspiracy” in the case, as per the prosecution, was the alleged creation of 23 protest sites, which operated 24×7 in “Muslim-majority areas”, close to mosques and main roads.

According to police, the 18 accused wanted to “escalate” the protest to a chakka jam “once critical mass is generated” when then US President Donald Trump visited Delhi in 2020.

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Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court

Professional Profile

Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.

Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).

Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.

She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.

With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram

Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)

Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:

High-Profile Case Coverage

She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.

Signature Style

Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.

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