On Friday, the Delhi High Court gave Umar Khalid three days of temporary bail in the UAPA case, which charges him with being part of a bigger plot to start the 2020 North East Delhi riots.
A division bench made up of Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Madhu Jain said he could go free between June 1 and June 3, but only under strict terms.
Khalid had asked for temporary bail for 15 days so that he could go to the Chehlum routine after his uncle’s death and to see his mother before and after her surgery on June 2.
He fought the May 19 order from the trial court that didn’t help him in any way.
Senior Adocate Trideep Pais, who was representing Khalid, said that Khalid had been given temporary bail in the past so that he could go to his sister’s wedding. He was also against giving him similar comfort twice more after that.
Another lawyer for the Delhi Police, Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, said that Khalid’s mother only needs minor treatment and that his sisters can take care of her. He also said that Khalid could visit her and come back the next day with cops with him.
The court heard both sides and then took a “empathetic view” of the case. They said, “Interim bail is granted for three days from June 1 to June 3 so that the appellant may spend time with his mother.”
The court said Khalid will only have one cell phone and will always be in touch with the investigating officer.
Conditions to be listed in detail in the final order.
The trial court said that just because Umar Khalid and the other suspects have been given temporary bail before and have never broken the rules, that doesn’t mean that every time an accused person asks for bail, they should be given it.
It was agreed that he didn’t need to go to his uncle’s Chehlum service and that if the relationship was that close, he would have asked for his release at the time of death instead of so long afterward.
When Khalid’s mother had surgery, the Trial Court said that Khalid’s other sisters could care for her, and the father could also do that.
Khalid was charged with serious crimes in FIR 59/2020, which includes Sections 13, 16, 17, 18 of the UAPA, Sections 25 and 27 of the Arms Act, Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984, and other crimes under the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Former AAP Councillor Tahir Hussain, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider, and Shifa-Ur-Rehman, activist Khalid Saifi, and people from the community Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Salim Malik, and Athar Khan were also charged in FIR 59/2020.
After that, more charges were added against Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the case.