The Delhi high court on Wednesday dismissed the petition filed by former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) scholar Umar Khalid and student activist Sharjeel Imam seeking bail in the larger conspiracy case linked to the February 2020 Delhi riots.
A bench of justices Prathiba M Singh and Dinesh Bhatt said that the Supreme Court, while denying them bail on January 5, had given them liberty to file for a fresh bail either before the examination of protected witnesses or the expiry of one year, whichever is earlier, and it could not modify the condition imposed by the court.
“Perusal of the decision in Gulfisha Fatima is concerned, the Supreme Court has given them liberty only upon the happening of 2 circumstances— examination of protected witnesses or the expiry of one year, whichever is earlier. These 2 conditons would show that the specific liberty is clear and conditional, and this court would not be in a position to modify the condition,” the court said in the order.
Imam and Khalid had moved the high court against the trial court’s July 4 denial of bail.
{{/usCountry}}Imam and Khalid had moved the high court against the trial court’s July 4 denial of bail.
{{/usCountry}}In their appeal, the two relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Syed Iftikhar Andrabi v NIA to contend that there had been a change in circumstances warranting their release on bail. In that case, the Supreme Court expressed “serious reservations” about the reasoning adopted while denying bail to Umar and Sharjeel.
It observed that the principles laid down in the 2021 judgment in Union of India vs KA Najeeb may not have been correctly applied. The judgment recognised that prolonged incarceration and delay in trial can override statutory restrictions on bail under Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Appearing for Delhi Police, ASG SV Raju and SPP Akhand Pratap Singh opposed the bail, saying that they could only seek liberty as per the conditions laid down by the Supreme Court, and they were co-conspirators.