Delhi riots: SC to hear Umar Khalid’s bail plea on November 1

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Dipankar Datta adjourned the hearing citing paucity of time and posted the matter to be heard on November 1.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday adjourned the hearing of the bail plea filed by former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, (UAPA) case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the North-East Delhi riots in February 2020.

A bench of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Dipankar Datta adjourned the hearing citing paucity of time and posted the matter to be heard on November 1.

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Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appearing for Khalid had earlier said certain provisions of the UAPA, including provisions concerning terrorism, raising funds for terrorist acts and conspiracy did not apply in the case.

Khalid had approached the top court challenging an October 2022 Delhi High Court verdict that had denied bail to him.

Khalid, arrested by Delhi Police in September 2020, in the High Court had sought bail on grounds that he neither had any “criminal role” in the violence in the city’s North-East area nor any “conspiratorial connect” with any other accused in the case. The Delhi police had opposed the bail plea of Khalid.

He had approached the High Court challenging the dismissal of his bail application by the trial court in March 2022.

He was charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly as well as several sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Besides Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others were booked under the stringent law in the case.

The violence had erupted during the protests against CAA and NRC and had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.