The Supreme Court today adjourned the hearing of former JNU scholar and activist Umar Khalid’s bail plea in connection with the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case. Umar Khalid has been behind bars since September 2020, awaiting his trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in the larger conspiracy surrounding the communal violence that broke out in February 2020 in the national capital.
A bench comprising Justice Bela Trivedi and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan was hearing Khalid’s special leave petition challenging the decision of the Delhi High Court to deny him bail last year. Umar Khalid, former JNU student has also lodged a writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution, challenging various provisions of the anti-terror statute.
The Supreme Court has tagged this plea with earlier petitions lodged challenging the constitutionality of UAPA provisions. Later, the court decided to hear the batch of petitions challenging UAPA provisions along with Khalid’s bail application.
Today, the hearing was adjourned since Justice Trivedi had to be in a different special bench combination to hear another matter at 2 PM. Senior Advocate CU Singh, mentioned the matter and requested for posting on January 31. Justice Trivedi clarified that the case would be listed high on the board, while deferring the hearing until January 31.
The particular case has also witnessed the recusal of one of the judges, Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, who was slated to hear it in August last year. Additionally, the hearing has been adjourned several times since notice was issued by the top court in the activist’s plea.
Khalid has moved the top court challenging an October 2022 Delhi High Court judgement denying bail to him in connection with the Delhi Riots larger conspiracy case. He was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2020 and charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly as well as several other offences under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).