The Delhi High Court (HC) on Wednesday refused to grant bail to Jawaharlal Nehru University’s (JNU) former scholar Umar Khalid and student activist Sharjeel Imam in the case pertaining to the alleged wider conspiracy behind the February 2020 North-East Delhi riots.
A division bench of the HC comprising Justices Pratibha M Singh and Dinesh Bhatt ruled that they could not alter the conditions attached to the Supreme Court’s (SC) earlier order concerning the accused duo. The plea filed by the accused had challenged an order passed by the trial court on July 4 this year that had denied them regular bail.
Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam (Left to Right)
SC’s orders cited
The HC noted that the top court, while denying bail to Khalid and Imam on January 5, had granted them the liberty to seek bail afresh upon the examination of protected witnesses or the expiry of one year, whichever occurred earlier.
It said the liberty granted by the SC was specific and conditional and that it would not be befit them to modify those conditions. The court further noted that the two circumstances specified by the SC had to occur before Khalid and Imam could invoke that liberty.
Thereafter, the HC declined to entertain their bail plea at this juncture.
Defence relies on change in circumstances
Khalid and Imam had relied on a subsequent ruling made by the apex court in Syed Iftikhar Andrabi vs NIA, contending that there had been a change in the circumstances that justified their release on bail.
In the case, the top court had expressed reservations about the reasoning adopted in earlier proceedings concerning the bail pleas of Khalid and Imam. It also considered the principles laid down in the 2021 judgment in Union of India vs KA Najeeb, which recognised that prolonged jail term and delays in trial can, in appropriate circumstances, have a bearing on statutory restrictions on bail under Sections 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The defence, relying upon the aforementioned developments, contended that the circumstances surrounding the bail pleas had changed.
Prosecution opposes bail
Appearing on behalf of Delhi Police, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju and Special Public Prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh opposed the bail pleas. They contended that Khalid and Imam could seek the liberty granted by the Supreme Court only in accordance with the conditions laid down in its earlier order.
It then alleged that the accused duo was a co-conspirator in the case. However, the allegations remain to be adjudicated in the ongoing proceedings. With the Delhi HC’s decision, Khalid and Imam will remain in custody in connection with the case.