The Supreme Court Monday pushed the hearing on the bail plea of JNU scholar Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and others in the Delhi riots greater conspiracy case to October 7.
A bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice N.V. Anjaria issued notice to the Delhi police seeking their response and posted the matter for October 7.
When the matter came up for hearing on Monday, senior advocate Kapil Sibal had requested the court to hear the matter before Diwali, which will be celebrated on October 21.
“Please hear this before Diwali so that we can be out before Diwali,” Sibal pleaded.
Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the student-activists, informed the court that he had been appearing for a student since 2020.
“Shocking that a student has to be behind bars for five years,” said Singhvi.
Singhvi clarified before the court that the case was pertaining to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests.
“Yes. We will hear you and dispose it off. Issue notice to all,” Justice Aravind Kumar ordered.
Khalid, arrested under the stringent anti-terror law UAPA, has spent over five years in the high-security Tihar jail since his arrest in the February 2020 Delhi riots case.
On September 2, Delhi High Court rejected the bail pleas of Khalid and eight others, citing that the allegations against the accused were grave and it would not be proper to release them on bail at this point of time.
Challenging the bail rejection, in his appeal before the apex court Khalid argued that the high court had erroneously rejected his bail plea although there is no material evidence to connect him with the riots.
On Friday the Supreme Court had deferred the hearing stating that it had received the files few hours earlier and needed more time to study.