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Gulfisha Fatima v. State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi)

one of seven connected appeals arising from Delhi Riots FIR · 2026 INSC 2Decided 5 Jan 2026
one of seven connected appeals arising from Delhi Riots FIR No. 59/2020
Justice Aravind Kumar · Justice N.V. Anjaria

Background

After roughly five and a half years in custody, an accused alleged to have played a ground-level, executory role in a large riot-conspiracy case sought bail alongside six co-accused, some of whom (with materially similar roles) had already been released.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held courts must assess each accused's individual role under UAPA rather than treating everyone in a conspiracy alike; since her alleged role was comparable to already-released co-accused, denying her bail would be discriminatory. Bail was granted with detailed conditions, without expressing any view on guilt or innocence.

Lesson Learnt

Under anti-terror bail law, courts must look at each accused's specific role, not treat everyone charged in a conspiracy the same: internal consistency across co-accused with similar roles matters.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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