Umar Khalid moves Delhi HC seeking interim bail in 2020 riots case

Jailed student activist Umar Khalid has moved the Delhi High Court challenging a trial court order denying him interim bail in connection with the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots Khalid on Thursday sought interim bail on humanitarian grounds to attend the Chehlum ceremony of his late uncle and to take care of his ailing mother who is scheduled to undergo surgery next monthAs per the causelist published on the official website of the Delhi High Court a bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain is scheduled to hear the matter on Friday Earlier a Delhi court had dismissed Khalids interim bail plea seeking temporary release for 15 daysAdditional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Court had rejected the application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita BNSS read with Section 439 of the CrPCAccording to the plea filed before the trial court Khalids uncle Khursheed Ahmad Khan passed away on April 10 and the 40thday ritual Chehlum is scheduled to be held in Delhi on May 24 Khalid had also submitted that his mother has been unwell and has been advised surgery for lump excision on June 2 at a private hospitalThe plea said that although Khalids family consisted of his parents and five sisters his 71yearold father was not in a position to take care of his mother while his sisters lived away from the parental home after marriage It was said that being the eldest and the only son in the family Khalid was required to assist his mother before and after the surgeryOpposing the plea before the trial court the prosecution had contended that the accused was attempting to misuse the courts leniency and that the grounds raised were not compelling The Special Public Prosecutor had submitted that Khalids uncle did not fall within the category of close relations and that attendance at the Chehlum ceremony was not necessaryRegarding Khalids mothers surgery the prosecution had said that his sisters and father could take care of her and described the procedure as a minor surgery requiring only local anaesthesia After hearing both sides the trial court had said that although Khalid had previously been granted interim bail on multiple occasions and had complied with all conditions each application must be assessed independently on its meritsRejecting the first ground the court had said Attending the Chehlum ceremony of his uncle is not necessaryOn the second ground relating to his mothers surgery the court had added that Khalid has multiple family members who can support his motherAccordingly finding the reasons unreasonable the Court doesnt deem it appropriate to grant the desired relief to the applicant The application is dismissed the court order had said Khalid had earlier been granted interim bail on several occasions including for short durations in 2022 2024 and 2025 and had surrendered on time each timeIn December last year a Delhi court had allowed him interim bail for 14 days to attend his sisters wedding subject to strict conditions including restrictions on movement and social media use Khalid who has been in custody since September 2020 under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPA and other offences faces allegations in the alleged larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riotsAccording to the Delhi Police several student activists involved in organising protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act CAA during 20192020 had conspired to engineer the riots that erupted in NorthEast Delhi in February 2020Earlier this year the Supreme Court dismissed the bail pleas of Umar Khalid and coaccused Sharjeel Imam in the case saying that the prosecution material disclosed prima facie grounds attracting the statutory embargo on bail under Section 43D5 of the UAPAUmar Khalids review petition challenging the denial of bail was also dismissed by the top court in April this yearThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever