The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it would hear a bail petition filed by former JNU student Umar Khalid in a UAPA case connected to the alleged conspiracy behind the riots here in February 2020 on July 24. During the hearing before a bench of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh, the Delhi Police requested time to respond to the petition.
Advocate Rajat Nair, representing Delhi Police, urged the bench to give him time to file a counter-affidavit in the case. “In a bail case, what counter should be filed? The man has been imprisoned for two years and ten months,” said renowned counsel Kapil Sibal, who is defending Khalid. Nair stated that he is asking for a brief time to submit a counter-claim in the matter.
On May 18, the Supreme Court requested a response from the Delhi Police to Khalid’s petition. Khalid’s petition challenges a Delhi High Court ruling denying him bail in the case. On October 18, 2016, the High Court denied his bail application, stating that he was in frequent contact with other co-accused and that the charges against him were prima facie genuine.
The High Court also ruled that the accused’s activities qualified as a “terrorist act” under the anti-terror law UAPA. Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and others have been charged under the anti-terrorism law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and parts of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots, which killed 53 people and injured over 700.
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