Case of Umar Khalid: SC Postpones Hearing on Bail Plea in UAPA Case for Two Weeks
The hearing on a petition filed by former JNU student Umar Khalid seeking bail in a case filed under the anti-terror code UAPA for his alleged participation in the plot that caused the northeast Delhi riots of February 2020 was postponed by the Supreme Court on Friday for two weeks.
A panel of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M. Trivedi ordered the issue to be heard on a day when there are no other unrelated matters, hence the hearing was postponed today.Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are reserved for business that requires a thorough hearing before the Supreme Court.Khalid’s representative, senior attorney Kapil Sibal, accepted the recommendation.
What led to Khalid’s arrest?
Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and other activists have been charged with being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 Delhi riots, which resulted in 53 fatalities and over 700 injuries. They have also been charged under several sections of the Indian Penal Code and the anti-terror code UAPA.The demonstrations against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) have caused widespread violence in Delhi.
Umar Khalid, a former JNU student who was detained by the Delhi Police in September 2020, has applied for bail and denied any involvement in the violence or “conspiratorial connection” with any other defendant in the case.
Asserting that Khalid’s speech was “very calculated” and that he brought up controversial subjects including the Babri Masjid, triple talaq, Kashmir, the alleged repression of Muslims, the CAA, and the NRC, Delhi police had rejected Khalid’s bail request before the high court.
A panel of Justices A S Bopanna and Prashant Kumar Mishra was to hear Khalid’s appeal contesting the October 18, 2022 Delhi High Court ruling that had denied his bail request in the case.
