Delhi Court Awards Umar Khalid 7-Day Temporary Bail in 'Larger Conspiracy' Case
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New Delhi, Dec 18 (NationPress) A court in the capital has granted Umar Khalid, a former JNU scholar and student activist, a 7-day interim bail on Wednesday. Khalid has been imprisoned since September 2020 under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with the 'larger conspiracy' case linked to the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
The Karkardooma Court has permitted Khalid to be released from December 28 to January 3 of the following year, allowing him to attend a family wedding.
Simultaneously, his bail application is still pending before a panel of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur at the Delhi High Court. Earlier in July, the Delhi HC issued a notice regarding Khalid's bail request and instructed the Delhi Police to submit a response.
Previously, Justice Amit Sharma of the Delhi High Court stepped down from presiding over Khalid's appeal, leading to a directive from a bench led by Justice Prathiba M. Singh to assign the case to a different panel.
A Delhi court had denied Khalid's bail application on May 28, citing delays in trial proceedings and differences in treatment compared to other co-accused individuals who were granted bail.
Earlier, in April 2022, a trial court dismissed Khalid's initial bail request, followed by the denial of his appeal by the Delhi High Court.
In February of this year, Khalid withdrew his special leave petition submitted to the Supreme Court regarding bail due to a 'change in circumstances', seeking permission to file a new bail application in the trial court.
Khalid faces charges under the stringent anti-terror UAPA as well as multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
