SC notice to Delhi Police in Umar Khalid's bail plea

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a notice to the Delhi Police in the bail plea of JNU student activist Umar Khalid, who has been booked under the UAPA for his alleged involvement in the larger conspiracy over the communal violence in February 2020. Awaiting his trial, Khalid has been behind bars since September 2020.

A bench comprising Justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli issued the notice while considering Khalid’s plea challenging the decision of the Delhi High Court to deny him bail last year.

In October 2022, the Delhi High Court upheld the March 2022 order of the trial court which denied him bail. The court then observed that the anti-CAA protests were geared towards the 2020 North-East Delhi riots through various "conspiratorial meetings" held from December 2019 to February 2020, some of which were also attended by Khalid.

In its order, HC also took a serious view of Khalid using the words "inquilabli salam" (revolutionary salute) and "krantikari istiqbal" (revolutionary welcome) in a speech given in a 2020 speech at Amaravati in Maharashtra and called it to be an inciting speech.

(With inputs from Live Law)