India, Jan. 5 -- The Supreme Court on Monday refused to grant bail to student leaders Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, who are among those who are behind bars for many years in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots case.

The Supreme Court cited the gravity of allegations against the two leaders, and said they stood "on a qualitatively different footing" when compared to the other accused in the case.

With this, the Supreme Court allowed the release of five other co-accused - Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad, after drawing a clear distinction in their alleged roles.

Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam are among those accused in the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots case. They have been behind ...