Activists Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid have approached a Delhi court with fresh bail applications in the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, arguing that the trial has seen little progress despite the Supreme Court rejecting their earlier pleas more than six months ago.

The fresh applications were filed before Additional Sessions Judge Sumedh Saini, who on Friday sought a response from Delhi Police and scheduled the matter for hearing on July 4.

In his plea, Imam said he has remained in custody for the past six years and that there have been no substantial developments in the case since the Supreme Court's January 5 order dismissing his bail application.

In January, the Supreme Court denied bail to Imam and Khalid in the larger conspiracy case arising from the 2020 riots, while granting relief to five co-accused.

A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria had observed that there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Imam under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The court also noted that all accused did not stand on the same footing in terms of the "hierarchy of participation".

The apex court, however, granted bail to activists Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.

Khalid, Imam and several others have been charged under the UAPA and various provisions of the IPC on allegations that they were the "masterminds" behind the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi.

The violence erupted amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), leaving 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.

The accused had earlier moved the Supreme Court challenging a September 2 order of the Delhi High Court that had denied them bail in the conspiracy case.