New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed an interim bail plea filed by jailed student activist Umar Khalid, who had sought temporary release to attend the Chehlum of his uncle and to take care of his ailing mother, scheduled to undergo surgery next month.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Courts rejected the application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), read with Section 439 of the CrPC, seeking 15 days’ interim bail.
According to the plea, Khalid’s uncle, Khursheed Ahmad Khan, passed away on April 10, and the 40th-day ritual (Chehlum) is scheduled to be held in Delhi on May 24. He also submitted that his mother has been unwell and has been advised surgery for lump excision on June 2 at a private hospital.
The plea stated that although Khalid’s family consisted of his parents and five sisters, his 71-year-old father was not in a position to take care of his mother, and his sisters lived away from the parental home after marriage. It was argued that, being the eldest and the only son in the family, Khalid was required to assist his mother before and after the surgery.
Opposing the plea, the prosecution contended that the accused was attempting to misuse the court’s leniency and that the grounds raised were not compelling. The Special Public Prosecutor submitted that the uncle did not fall within the category of “close relations” and that attendance at the Chehlum ceremony was not necessary.
Regarding Khalid’s mother’s surgery, the prosecution argued that his sisters and father could take care of her and described the procedure as a “minor surgery” requiring only local anaesthesia. After hearing both sides, the court observed that although Khalid had previously been granted interim bail on multiple occasions and had complied with all conditions, each application must be assessed independently on its merits.
“Not only the applicant but other co-accused persons have been granted interim bail, and they never flouted the conditions as imposed by the Court, but it doesn’t mean that on every occasion whenever the accused seeks bail, the Court should grant the same,” the judge said.
Rejecting the first ground, the court observed: “Attending the Chehlum ceremony of his uncle is not that necessary. The things would have been different if the ceremony was of a person who was in immediate relation with the applicant.”
It further said that if the relationship was so close, Khalid would have sought release at the time of his uncle’s death itself. On the second ground relating to his mother’s surgery, the judge said that Khalid has multiple family members who can support his mother.
“There seems to be no actual requirement or help from the side of the applicant,” the court said, adding that the surgery appeared to be a simple procedure. “Accordingly, finding the reasons unreasonable, the Court doesn’t deem it appropriate to grant the desired relief to the applicant. The application is dismissed,” the order stated.
Khalid had earlier been granted interim bail on several occasions, including for short durations in 2022, 2024 and 2025, and had surrendered on time each time. In December last year, a Delhi court had allowed him interim bail for 14 days to attend his sister’s wedding, subject to strict conditions, including restrictions on movement and social media use.
Khalid, who has been in custody since September 2020 under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and other offences, faces allegations in the alleged “larger conspiracy” case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots.
According to the Delhi Police, several student activists involved in organising protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) during 2019-2020 had conspired to engineer the riots that erupted in North-East Delhi in February 2020.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court dismissed the bail pleas of Umar Khalid and co-accused Sharjeel Imam in the case, holding that the prosecution material disclosed prima facie grounds attracting the statutory embargo on bail under Section 43D(5) of the UAPA. Umar Khalid’s review petition challenging the denial of bail was also dismissed by the top court in April this year.
(IANS)
