New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday adjourned till January 24 the hearing on Umar Khalid's bail application in a Delhi riots larger conspiracy case and his writ petition challenging the provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). A bench of Justice Pankaj Mittal and Justice Bela M Trivedi heard the case.
On October 31, another divisional bench headed by Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi tagged Khalid’s bail plea with other matters challenging the constitutionality of provisions in the UAPA. The petitions include Khalid’s writ petition challenging the UAPA provisions, and the UAPA Charges Related to Tripura Violence where FIRs were filed against lawyers and journalists who undertook a fact-finding mission in the Tripura violence of October 2021.
As senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who represents Khalid, was unavailable due to a Constitution Bench case, the next date for the hearing was scheduled for November 22, 2023. However, the hearing was further adjourned later, listed for today, January 10. But with Sibal still engaged with the ongoing Constitutional Bench case, the matter was not taken up again.
The bench first listed the case for January 17, but on Sibal's request it has now been posted for January 24.
In April 2023, Khalid filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court appealing against the Delhi High Court’s decision that rejected his bail.
In October 2022, the Delhi High Court refused to grant bail to Khalid, saying that he was in constant touch with other co-accused and allegations against him were prima facie true.
The High Court had said that Khalid's act prima facie qualified as “terrorist act” under the UAPA.
Khalid was arrested and charged under the anti-terror legislation UAPA on allegations of being part of a larger conspiracy responsible for the North East Delhi riots of February 2020. He completed three years in jail in September 2023. His bail plea has been adjourned atleast nine times in the top court.