Today, Wednesday, December 18, a Delhi court granted student activist Umar Khalid a seven-day interim bail in the conspiracy case related to the 2020 Delhi riots, as stated in a report by Scroll.in.
Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma court allowed Khalid temporary relief from December 28 to January 3 to attend his cousin’s wedding.
Khalid, arrested on September 13, 2020, under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), had previously received similar bail in 2022 to attend his sister’s wedding. The charges against him stem from violence in North East Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
The riots, occurring between February 23 and 26, 2020, left 53 dead, predominantly Muslims, and hundreds injured.
The Delhi Police alleged the violence was part of a broader conspiracy to discredit Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. They claimed the protests had secessionist motives masked as civil disobedience. Several activists, including Khalid, were implicated in these charges.
The court required Khalid to furnish a personal bond of Rs 20,000 and two sureties. He is prohibited from using social media, contacting witnesses, or interacting with anyone outside his family, relatives, or friends. His regular bail plea remains pending before the Delhi High Court, following multiple rejections by the trial court and Supreme Court proceedings.
