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Journalism of Courage
Umar Khalid bail plea: Umar Khalid, an activist and a former JNU student, has been facing charges of criminal conspiracy under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection to the 2020 Delhi riots, which left 53 people dead and hundreds injured. Khalid was arrested in 2020 and since then there have been multiple court hearings till date.
In this backdrop and with the Umar Khalid bail hearing scheduled for today in the Supreme Court, here is a timeline of the key events in the 2020 Delhi riots case so far.
September: Umar Khalid arrested under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection to the 2020 Delhi riots.
October: Delhi Police files another FIR against Khalid for vandalism and arson.
November: Delhi police files chargesheet against Khalid.
April: Khalid receives bail from a Sessions Court against the charges filed against him for vandalism and arson. However, he remains in jail over the allegations of conspiring and instigating the 2020 Delhi Riots.
July: Khalid files bail plea in UAPA case.
March: Sessions Court denies bail to Khalid.
April: Khalid approaches the Delhi High Court for bail.
October: Khalid’s bail plea was rejected by the Delhi High Court after he challenged the trial court’s order. The court held that the prosecution’s case and the charge sheet had made out a prima facie case against Khalid.
December: He was allowed interim bail by the trial court to attend a family function and gagged from talking to the media.
April: He moved the Supreme Court against the high court’s order denying him bail.
August: SC judge PK Mishra recuses himself from hearing Khalid’s plea seeking bail in UAPA case.
October: SC issues notice to Centre on Khalid’s plea challenging various provisions of UAPA.
February: Khalid withdraws bail plea from SC, to ‘try luck in trial court’ after several adjournments.
March: Khalid again moves a Delhi court seeking bail.
May: Additional sessions judge Sameer Bajpai dismisses Khalid’s bail plea.
July: Justice Amit Sharma recuses from hearing his bail plea after he moves the Delhi High Court.
December: A trial court grants him seven days of interim bail to attend cousin’s wedding.
July: Delhi High Court reserves order on bail plea of Khalid and others.
September: Underlining that the 2020 Delhi riots were not a “regular protest” but a “premeditated, well-orchestrated conspiracy,” the high court declines bail to Khalid and others.
Khalid moves Supreme Court against high court order denying him bail.
October: Supreme Court raps Delhi Police for seeking two weeks to reply to Khalid’s bail plea, saying, ‘Gave sufficient time’.
Delhi Police tells apex court that the communal riots that rocked the national capital in 2020, killing 53 people, were a “criminal conspiracy hatched for execution of riots intended for achieving the final ‘regime change’ goal” and stoutly opposed granting bail to the accused, including Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, in cases registered in this connection.
