Denied relief, Umar Khalid moved high court for interim bail

The petition, scheduled to be heard on Friday by a bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain, challenges the trial court’s May 19 order refusing him 15 days’ interim bail

Two days after a trial court rejected former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader Umar Khalid’s plea for interim bail in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Delhi riots, he has moved the Delhi high court seeking relief.

In the impugned order, additional sessions judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma courts held that the grounds cited by Umar Khalid (above) for seeking interim bail were not reasonable. (PTI)

The petition, scheduled to be heard on Friday by a bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain, challenges the trial court’s May 19 order refusing him 15 days’ interim bail to attend the Chehlum (40th day ceremony) of his deceased uncle and visit his mother, who is scheduled to undergo surgery.

In the impugned order, additional sessions judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma courts held that the grounds cited by Khalid for seeking interim bail were not reasonable.

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

In his petition, Khalid, through advocate Sahil Ghai, maintained that the bail application was rejected on the incorrect and unsubstantiated finding that the deceased uncle was not his immediate relative and that his mother’s surgery could be managed by his father and sisters.

The petition stated that Khalid shared a special bond with his late uncle since childhood, but the trial court tested such closeness without specifying any standard for what constituted an “immediate relative”.

“The appellant’s father is himself about 71 years old, and four of the appellant’s sisters are already married and living with their own families at different locations; therefore, they are not in a position to offer necessary physical and emotional support to the appellant’s mother, who is 62 years old, for her surgery. The appellant is the only son and the eldest child in the family and accordingly is also expected to support his mother,” the petition stated.

It added that the investigation qua him is complete and there is no possibility of him tampering with evidence, nor is he likely to evade the ongoing prosecution.

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 accused by the Delhi Police special cell under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of allegedly orchestrating the 2020 Delhi riots. The case is being heard before ASJ Bajpai.