New Delhi: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) research scholar Umar Khalid, who has been in jail since September 2020 for his alleged involvement in the Delhi riots that year, was granted seven-day interim bail by a Delhi court Wednesday to attend a wedding in the family.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma Courts set several bail conditions—Khalid will not contact witnesses in connection with the case, won’t use social media, will meet only family and friends, and will stay at home or visit only the venues where the wedding functions are to take place.
The court also ordered Khalid to surrender to the Tihar Jail superintendent on the evening of 3 January.
Since Khalid’s case first came up before the Delhi High Court in 2022, it has been plagued by adjournments, rejected appeals and a withdrawn petition from the Supreme Court.
A Delhi sessions court had observed in March 2022 that there was a pre-planned conspiracy behind the communal riots in Northeast Delhi and that Khalid was a part of it.
The former student activist was then denied bail by the Delhi High Court in October 2022 following which he approached the Supreme Court. The matter has come up before the top court at least 13 times and was adjourned on at least 12 occasions.
He later withdrew his plea and filed for a second regular bail in the trial court, which was rejected earlier this year. His appeal challenging that rejection is pending before the high court.
Khalid has been in jail since 14 September, 2020, after he was charged under sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)—including that of sedition—and The Arms Act, for his alleged role as a “key conspirator” in the riots.
The UAPA case is one of two filed by the Delhi Police against Khalid. In April 2021, a sessions court granted him bail in a separate case of alleged vandalism and arson in the Delhi riots. Despite this, he remained in jail due to his alleged involvement in the case concerning the conspiracy behind the riots.
The other accused in the UAPA case are Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, Isharat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan, and Natasha Narwal.