The Supreme Court on Wednesday sought a response from Delhi Police on the bail plea of Tasleem Ahmed, an accused in the February 2020 Delhi riots “larger conspiracy” case.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and P. B. Varale issued notice on a plea filed by Ahmed challenging a Delhi High Court order that had denied him bail.

The high court, in its September 2 order last year, dismissed Ahmed’s plea, holding that “delay in trial” cannot be the sole ground for consideration.

It had said that except in cases of palpable violation of fundamental rights or breach of constitutional rights, bail cannot be granted on the sole factor of long incarceration or delay in trial.

The HC had also said that those accused who have secured bail in the case were delaying arguments on the charge “at the cost of those accused persons who are in prison.”

Ahmed is among several people booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code in what the police have described as a “larger conspiracy” behind the February 2020 violence in northeast Delhi.

Activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam are also among the accused. The riots broke out amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The violence left 53 people dead and over 700 injured, according to official figures.