Prashant Bhushan strongly criticised the Delhi High Court for refusing bail to Umar Khalid case related to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots., saying it is shocking that he has spent five years in jail and still his trial has not even begun. What kind of justice is this?
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court denied bail to former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, along with seven others, in connection with a larger conspiracy case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) related to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots.
Reacting to the order, Prashant Bhushan said,
“This is Umar Khalid: he used to worry about the poor and backward people of the country. If you listen to any of his speeches, in every speech he talked about non-violence. Because he is a Muslim, Modi’s police have kept him arrested. Even after five years, his trial has not even started, yet the High Court did not grant him bail! What kind of justice is this?”
The nine individuals seeking bail included Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Shadab Ahmed, Abdul Khalid Saifi, and Gulfisha Fatima.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur rejected the bail applications.
Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur, who formed the Bench, delivered the verdict, stating,
“All appeals are dismissed.”
Initially, the trial court denied him bail in March 2022. Khalid subsequently approached the High Court, which also refused him relief in October 2022, leading him to file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
In May 2023, the Supreme Court requested a response from the Delhi Police regarding the matter, but his plea was adjourned 14 times. On February 14, 2024, he withdrew his bail petition from the Supreme Court, citing changed circumstances.
Earlier, A Supreme Court Bench, including Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, was scheduled to hear the case when Khalid’s counsel, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, announced the withdrawal of the bail plea.
Following this, the trial court rejected his second bail petition on May 28, prompting the current appeal to the High Court.
Other co-accused also appealed to the High Court after their bail requests were turned down by the trial court. Senior Advocate Trideep Pais represented Umar Khalid in the proceedings.
Umar Khalid was arrested in September 2020 and has faced charges of criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly, and other offenses under the UAPA. He has remained incarcerated since his arrest. This marked his second attempt to secure bail from the High Court.
Case Title: Sharjeel Imam v State of NCT of Delhi
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