The Supreme Court on January 5, 2026, ruled in the Delhi riots ‘larger conspiracy’ case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). It created a "hierarchy of culpability" among the accused. The court denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam but granted it to Gulfisha Fatima and others. The judgment stated that treating all accused the same would violate Article 21 of the Constitution. This article protects the fundamental right to life and liberty. Justice Kumar said, "Treating all the accused identically will risk transforming pre-trial detention into a punitive mechanism divorced from individual circumstances. Prolonged custody disproportionately burdens those whose roles are limited." The court emphasized that the State must present cases against each accused separately during bail hearings. Those with limited roles should get conditional bail to balance liberty and security. The actual guilt or innocence would be decided during the trial, not at bail stage. The court found the roles of Khalid and Imam to be "qualitatively on a different footing," both in the prosecution's story and evidence. It said Khalid and Imam played "central and directive roles in conceptualising, planning and coordinating the alleged terror act." Meanwhile, Gulfisha Fatima and others had only "subsidiary" roles. The Supreme Court made clear that this hierarchy did not weaken the conspiracy case or the accused's culpability. Instead, it ensured that pre-trial detention was fair and not automatic. Bail rules must be reasonable, proportional, and respect individual cases.