The Delhi High Court on Friday granted former JNU student leader Umar Khalid interim bail for three days in connection with the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case, allowing him temporary release to be with his mother during her medical treatment and surgery.
The relief has been granted from June 1 to June 3 after Khalid approached the High Court seeking temporary bail on humanitarian grounds. The decision came shortly after a lower court had declined to grant him interim relief.
Earlier this month, a trial court at Karkardooma had rejected Khalid’s plea, observing that the reasons cited in the application were insufficient for granting temporary bail. The court had stated that the circumstances presented did not justify release under the existing legal framework.
The latest order from the High Court has once again brought attention to the ongoing legal proceedings linked to the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, in which multiple activists and accused persons have been booked under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The development also follows recent observations made by the Supreme Court regarding bail in UAPA-related cases. During proceedings connected to similar matters, the apex court had raised concerns over prolonged incarceration and the application of bail principles in stringent anti-terror cases.
The Supreme Court recently reiterated that personal liberty remains an important constitutional principle and observed that “bail is the rule and jail the exception,” even while dealing with cases under special laws like the UAPA.
Those remarks were made by a bench of Justice B. V. Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan while granting bail in another UAPA-related matter involving prolonged custody.
The Delhi riots conspiracy case continues to remain one of the most closely watched legal proceedings linked to the violence that erupted in Northeast Delhi in 2020. Investigations and court hearings in the matter are still underway.
