This marks the Umar’s third attempt at bail since his 2020 arrest; the court has clubbed his hearing with co-accused Sharjeel Imam’s plea, both scheduled for August 27.
The Delhi High Court on Friday directed Delhi Police to respond to Umar Khalid’s latest bail application in the UAPA case tied to the alleged “larger conspiracy” behind the February 2020 north-east Delhi riots. A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Vikas Mahajan gave police two weeks to file their stand and fixed August 27 for the next hearing, alongside co-accused Sharjeel Imam’s bail plea.
Khalid’s lawyers noted this is his third bail attempt and that interim bail was also being sought. The plea challenges a trial court’s July 4 order rejecting his earlier application. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, representing the police, pointed out that Imam’s plea had been dismissed by the same trial court order and suggested both matters be heard together.
Khalid, arrested in September 2020, faces UAPA charges as an alleged mastermind of the riots that killed 53 people and injured over 700, sparked by protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC. The trial court had cited a Supreme Court order from January 5 in denying him relief, though that same order granted bail to several co-accused, citing a “hierarchy of participation” among the accused.
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