The Delhi High Court is set to hear former JNU student Umar Khalid’s bail plea on Monday in connection with a UAPA case linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the communal riots in February 2020.
The bail applications of co-accused individuals, including student activist Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima, and Khalid Saifi, founder of “United Against Hate,” will be heard by Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur. Previously, these cases were overseen by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait, who has been appointed as chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and others face charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the “masterminds” behind the February 2020 riots that led to 53 deaths and over 700 injuries during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
Khalid, arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2020, is appealing a trial court’s May 28 order that denied him bail. The Delhi High Court issued a notice on his appeal in July. Imam, along with other accused, filed pleas in 2022, which have been heard by different benches. Imam is also contesting a trial court order from April 11, 2022, that denied him bail. He was arrested on August 25, 2020.
The trial court had previously rejected Khalid’s bail request for the second time on May 28, stating that its earlier decision dismissing his first bail application was final.
“When the Delhi High Court has already dismissed the criminal appeal of the applicant (Khalid) vide order dated October 18, 2022, and thereafter, the applicant approached the Supreme Court and withdrew his petition, the order of this court as passed on March 24, 2022 (on the first bail plea), has attained finality and now, in no stretch of imagination this court can make analysis of the facts of the case as desired by the applicant and consider the relief as prayed by him,” the trial court had said.
On October 18, 2022, the high court upheld the rejection of Umar Khalid’s initial bail plea, stating that the city police’s allegations appear credible. The court noted that the anti-CAA protests had escalated into violent riots, which seemed to have been planned during conspiratorial meetings. Witness testimonies suggest Khalid actively participated in these protests.