A Delhi court on Monday granted one-week interim bail to activist Umar Khalid, who is accused in a case related to riots that broke out in the northeastern part of the city in February 2020, Bar and Bench reported.
The activist will be released on December 23 and will need to surrender on December 30, according to Live Law.
Khalid had sought interim bail for two weeks to attend his sister’s wedding. He was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2020.
The activist has been booked under an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case pertaining to clashes that had broken out between February 23 and February 26, 2020, among supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it in North East Delhi. The violence had left 53 dead and hundreds injured. Most of those killed were Muslims.
The Delhi Police claim the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to defame Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government and was hatched by those who organised the protests, including Khalid, against the amended Citizenship Act.
They also claim the protestors had secessionist motives and were using “the facade of civil disobedience” to destabilise the government. The police had arrested several activists and students, including Khalid, based on these conspiracy charges.
While seeking interim bail in the present case, Khalid’s lawyer had told the court that he will not talk to the media or meet the public if allowed to attend the wedding, according to Bar and Bench.
The Delhi Police, however, opposed the plea saying Khalid could spread misinformation on social media and cause unrest.
The police also claimed that Khalid may influence witnesses in the case if released.
“His regular bail application has been dismissed by this court and the appeal by the division bench of the High Court,” the police had said. “Further, his parents are capable of making all necessary arrangements.”
On October 18, the Delhi High Court had denied bail to Khalid saying that the allegations against him were prima facie true and so Section 43D(5) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act prevents granting him bail.
The High Court had said that demonstrations planned by Khalid and other activists against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the National Register of Citizens were “not a typical protest” but were far more destructive.
On December 4, Khalid, along with another activist Khalid Saifi, were discharged in a separate case related to mob violence in Delhi’s Khajuri Khas area during the riots. They were granted bail in the case in April 2021.
Although Khalid and Saifi were not part of the mob, they were accused of criminal conspiracy in the case.
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