India, Jan. 5 -- The Supreme Court of India on Monday rejected the bail pleas of activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the "larger conspiracy" case linked to the February 2020 Delhi riots, holding that the two stand on a "qualitatively different footing" from the other accused.

In the same verdict, a bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N. V. Anjaria granted bail to five other accused-Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad-who are also facing charges in the case.

Khalid, Imam and the other accused were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and provisions of the Indian Penal Code in a case in which the Delhi Police has alleged a larger conspiracy behind the communal...