The Delhi High Court granted three-days’ interim bail to student activist Umar Khalid on Friday, May 22. Umar has been granted bail from June 1 to 3, on account of his mother undergoing surgery. He had first approached Delhi's Karkardooma court seeking 15 days’ bail, but was denied it on Tuesday, May 19.
A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain granted interim bail on a bond of Rs 1 lakh, on the condition that he does not leave the Delhi NCR area.
Earlier this week, the Supreme Court had come down heavily on the denial of bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, stating that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan voiced reservations about a January 5 order issued by another SC bench denying bail to the two student activists.
In December last year, Umar was granted two weeks’ bail in connection with his sister’s wedding.
Umar Khalid was booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 riots in north east Delhi. He faces charges linked to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the communal violence. He, along with other student activists, was arrested during widespread protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). The 2020 violence had erupted amid nationwide protests against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The unrest resulted in the deaths of 53 people and left over 700 injured.
The controversial CAA, which was passed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government in 2019, sought to fast-track citizenship for illegal migrants who came to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan and belong to the Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, or Christian religious communities. The Act notably excluded Muslims, triggering countrywide protests alleging that the legislation went against the tenets of the Indian Constitution.
