A Delhi court has granted seven days of interim bail to former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader, Umar Khalid, to allow him to attend his cousin’s wedding. The bail, which was granted on Wednesday, will be effective from December 28 to January 3. Khalid had initially requested a 10-day interim bail for the occasion.
Khalid, who has been in custody since September 2020, is facing charges under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the riots that occurred after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). He had been arrested in the aftermath of the Delhi riots, which led to widespread violence in February 2020. His bail requests have been repeatedly rejected, including a recent attempt on December 6, when the Delhi High Court dismissed his plea for release.
This latest decision from the court follows a series of unsuccessful bail applications by Khalid. His legal team had pointed out that he was not present in the riot-prone areas of northeast Delhi at the time of the violence and had advocated for non-violent protests in his speeches, including one delivered in Amravati.
During hearings, Khalid’s lawyer, senior advocate Trideep Pais, also raised concerns about the alleged bias in the case. He argued that several individuals involved in the protests, such as political leaders and activists, had not been named as accused despite their involvement in the alleged conspiracy. He also questioned why there was no physical evidence connecting Khalid to the riots.
Khalid’s plea for bail was notably focused on the claim that there was no concrete evidence tying him to the violence, adding to his argument that he should be granted bail like other co-accused individuals, such as Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, Asif Iqbal Tanha, and Ishrat Jahan, who were granted bail earlier.
This interim bail for Umar Khalid is seen as a temporary relief as his legal battle continues in the face of ongoing charges related to the Delhi riots.
Sources By Agencies