Delhi HC rejects bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam for third time in 2020 riots case
The High Court said it was bound by the Supreme Court’s directions and therefore could not change the conditions imposed on Khalid and Imam.
PTC News Desk: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday rejected the third bail pleas of student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the case related to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 North-East Delhi riots. The case has been registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Dinesh Bhatt said it could not change the Supreme Court’s January 5 order. The Supreme Court had directed the two accused to seek bail either after the protected witnesses had been examined or after one year from the date of that order, whichever comes first.
The High Court said it was bound by the Supreme Court’s directions and therefore could not change the conditions imposed on Khalid and Imam.
Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have been booked under the UAPA over allegations that they were involved in the larger conspiracy behind the 2020 riots. The violence, which took place during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019 and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
Activist Khalid Saifi and former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain, among others, are also accused in the case, which was investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell.
Imam was arrested on August 25, 2020, while Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020. They approached the Delhi High Court after a trial court rejected their bail pleas for the third time.
The Delhi Police opposed their bail applications and alleged that the two were among the main conspirators behind the riots.