The Supreme Court on Wednesday (January 23) adjourned the hearing of former JNU scholar and activist Umar Khalid’s bail plea in connection with the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.
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NEW DELHI: In the Delhi riots conspiracy case, the Supreme Court of India adjourned the bail plea hearing of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scholar and activist Umar Khalid to January 31. Khalid has been incarcerated since September 2020, facing charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged role in the larger conspiracy of the 2020 communal violence in Delhi.
The bench, comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Ujjal Bhuyan, was hearing Khalid’s special leave petition challenging the Delhi High Court’s decision to deny him bail last year. Khalid has also filed a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, challenging various provisions of the anti-terror statute. The Supreme Court has linked this plea with earlier petitions challenging the constitutionality of UAPA provisions and decided to hear them together with Khalid’s bail application.
The hearing was adjourned due to Justice Trivedi’s commitment to another matter in a different special bench combination post-lunch. Senior Advocate CU Singh, representing Khalid, mentioned that although he was prepared to argue, the bench was only available until lunch and requested the matter be posted on January 31. Justice Trivedi agreed to the request, ensuring the case would be listed ‘high on the board’.
This case has seen several adjournments since the Supreme Court issued notice on Khalid’s plea on May 18. These include adjournments on July 12, July 24, August 9 (following Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra’s recusal), August 18, September 5, September 12, October 12, October 31, and January 10, for various reasons ranging from requests by parties to the need for the bench to review evidence.
Khalid, along with 59 others, including Pinjra Tod members Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal, Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha, and student activist Gulfisha Fatima, is accused in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 North-East Delhi communal riots. Others charged in the case include former Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider, and Shifa-Ur-Rehman, former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain, activist Khalid Saifi, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Mohd Salim Khan, and Athar Khan.
Khalid and JNU student Sharjeel Imam were the last to be charge-sheeted in the case. Zargar, Kalita, Narwal, Tanha, and Jahan have already been granted bail. Khalid faces charges under various sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the Arms Act, and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
In October last year, the Delhi High Court upheld a trial court order denying Khalid bail. The High Court observed that the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in 2019 were linked to the 2020 North-East Delhi riots through ‘conspiratorial meetings‘. The court also took a serious view of Khalid’s use of phrases like ‘inquilabli salam’ (revolutionary salute) and ‘krantikari istiqbal’ (revolutionary welcome) in a speech, interpreting them as potential incitements of violence.
Khalid’s challenge to the Delhi High Court’s verdict in the Supreme Court led to the issuance of notice in his plea by a bench headed by Justice Bopanna. Earlier, another bench of the apex court had dismissed Delhi police’s plea against a high court order granting bail to co-accused Asif Iqbal Tanha, Natasha Narwal, and Devangana Kalita.
Case Title:
Umar Khalid v. State of NCT of Delhi | Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No. 6857 of 2023
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