Court denies bail to former JNU student Umar Khalid for 2020 Delhi riots

New Delhi, March 24

A Delhi court on Thursday rejected the bail plea of former JNU student Umar Khalid in a case of larger conspiracy in connection with the February 2020 Delhi riots in which more than 50 people had died.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat – who had reserved the order on March 3 after hearing arguments from advocates representing Khalid and the prosecution – noted that the allegations against Khalid were prima facie true.

“On the perusal of the charge sheet and accompanying documents, for the limited purpose of the bail, I am of the opinion that allegations against the accused Umar Khalid are prima facie true,” the court said.

It said, “…since there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the accused Umar Khalid are prima facie true, hence, embargo created by Section 43D of UAPA applies for grant of bail to the accused and also, the embargo contained in Section 437 Cr.P.C,” it said, rejecting his bail application.

During the arguments, his counsel had contended that the prosecution lacked the evidence to prove its case against him.

Khalid and several others have been booked under the anti-terror law UAPA in the case for being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.

The violence had erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Besides Khalid, activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain and several others have also been booked under the stringent law in the case. —with PTI inputs