Delhi court denies Umar Khalid interim bail, says grounds ‘unreasonable’

Khalid had sought 15 days’ interim bail on 2 grounds — to attend the Chehlum of his deceased uncle and to visit his mother, who is scheduled to undergo surgery.

A Delhi court on Tuesday denied interim bail to former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student activist Umar Khalid in the northeast Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, holding that the grounds cited for relief were not reasonable.

The prosecution, led by special public prosecutor Anirudh Mishra, opposed the plea, arguing that Khalid was misusing the court’s leniency and that the grounds cited were not justified. (HT Archive)

The order was passed by additional sessions judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma courts.

Khalid, through his counsel Sahil Ghai, had sought 15 days’ interim bail on two grounds — to attend the 40th day ceremony (Chehlum) of his deceased uncle and to visit his mother, who is scheduled to undergo surgery.

The prosecution, led by special public prosecutor Anirudh Mishra, opposed the plea, arguing that Khalid was misusing the court’s leniency and that the grounds cited were not justified.

Before deciding the plea on merits, the judge noted that while Khalid and other co-accused in the case had previously been granted interim bail on multiple occasions and had never violated the conditions imposed on them. Even so, that did not warrant a similar decision from the court every time; each application had to be decided independently, judge Bajpai said.

The court held that Khalid’s presence at his uncle’s Chehlum ceremony was not necessary as the deceased was not an immediate family member.

“Further, if the relation was so immediate and thick, the applicant would have asked for the release at the time of his uncle’s death and not now after such a long time,” the order read.

Regarding his mother’s surgery, the court observed that the procedure appeared to be simple and that there were sufficient family members, including his five sisters and father, to take care of her.

“The surgery is very simple i.e., just for removal of lumps, and there seems to be no actual requirement or help from the side of the applicant. Accordingly, finding the reasons unreasonable, the court doesn’t deem it appropriate to grant the desired relief to the applicant,” the court said.

Khalid was granted interim bail for two weeks in December last year to attend his sister’s wedding.

He, along with activist Sharjeel Imam, is among the 20 people booked by the Delhi Police special cell under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly orchestrating the 2020 Delhi riots. The case is being heard before ASJ Bajpai and is at the stage of arguments on charges.