The Delhi High Court (HC) will hear the bail applications of activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and others charged in the Delhi Riots 'larger conspiracy' case on January 7, 2025.
A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur adjourned the hearing after the Delhi police lawyer stated that the case would be argued by assistant solicitor general SV Raju, who was unavailable today, Friday, December 20, LiveLaw reports.
"How do we adjourn bail matters like this? Last time also these were heard by a bench and released," the bench said.
The court stated it would hear the case on the first day of its reopening after the winter vacation. The senior counsel representing Khalid stated that the adjournment could not come at the expense of the accused, adding, "He has been in custody for almost five years."
Khalid, Imam, and numerous others were charged under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and Indian Penal Code provisions for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots that killed 53 people and injured over 700.
The riots broke out in Northeast Delhi in February 2020 during the protests against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
They have requested bail from the court on the grounds of a long term of incarceration and parity with other co-accused who are on bail. The majority of bail pleas were filed in 2022 and heard by several benches regularly.
The Delhi police arrested all of the accused on different days following the communal riots in February 2020.
Umar Khalid asked the high court for bail for the second time in 2024, after the HC denied a similar appeal in October 2022.
