Guwahati: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday declined to grant bail to former JNU student Umar Khalid in a UAPA case concerning the alleged conspiracy behind the disturbances in this area in February 2020. “There is no merit in the bail appeal. Bail appeal is dismissed,” said a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar.
Khalid, who was detained by Delhi Police in September 2020, requested bail on the grounds that neither he nor any other defendant in the case had any “criminal role” in the unrest in the city’s northeast. The Delhi Police opposed the bail request.
Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and other others have been charged with violating the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for allegedly planning the riots in February 2020 that resulted in 53 fatalities and more than 700 injuries.
The rallies against CAA and NRC had erupted in bloodshed. Along with Khalid, several people have been charged under the strict law in the case, including activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Safoora Zargar of the Jamia Coordination Committee, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, and numerous more.