The Supreme Court has once again postponed the hearing of a bail plea submitted by Umar Khalid, a former student of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), in connection with a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) related to an alleged conspiracy behind the North-East Delhi riots in February 2020. The bail plea is now scheduled for a hearing on January 24.
Reason behind postponement of hearing
The bench, consisting of Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mittal Satish, decided to adjourn the hearing following requests for adjournment from senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Khalid, and Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, representing the Delhi police. Sibal cited his engagement in a Constitution bench hearing on the same day, while ASG Raju's unavailability prompted the Delhi police's request for adjournment.
Initially hesitant to defer the matter, the bench ultimately agreed to the adjournment after repeated pleas from Sibal and other parties. The apex court, however, emphasized that no further adjournment would be granted in this matter. "The impression goes that the court is not taking up the matter," the bench said as counsels were requesting adjournment.
What Sibal contended in court?
Earlier, Sibal had said certain provisions of the UAPA, including provisions concerning terrorism, raising funds for terrorist acts and conspiracy, did not apply in this case. Khalid approached the top court, challenging an October 2022 Delhi High Court verdict that denied bail to him. Arrested by Delhi Police in September 2020, the former JNU student sought bail in the High Court on the grounds that he neither had any "criminal role" in the violence in the city's north-east area nor any "conspiratorial connect" with any other accused in the case.
However, the Delhi police had opposed Khalid's bail plea. He then approached the High Court, challenging the dismissal of his bail application by the trial court in March 2022. He was charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, and unlawful assembly, along with several sections of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
About the case
In addition to Khalid, other individuals including Sharjeel Imam, activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee member Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, and several others have been charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the case. The legal action stems from the violence that transpired amid protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), resulting in 53 fatalities and over 700 injuries.
(With ANI inputs)
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