Umar Khalid granted interim bail to attend sister’s wedding in Delhi riots conspiracy case
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Thursday, December 11, granted interim bail to former JNU scholar and activist Umar Khalid in the 2020 North-East Delhi riots larger conspiracy case registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Khalid sought temporary relief to attend his sister’s wedding.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Courts allowed Khalid interim bail from December 16 to December 29. The court directed him to furnish a personal bond of ₹20,000 along with two sureties of the same amount.
While granting relief, the court imposed several conditions. Khalid has been barred from contacting any witnesses or individuals connected to the case. He must provide his mobile number to the investigating officer and keep it operational throughout the bail period. The court further directed him not to use social media and to remain either at his home or at the specified wedding-related venues. He is permitted to meet only family members, relatives and friends during the interim bail.
Khalid has been ordered to surrender before the Superintendent of the concerned prison on the evening of December 29.
This is not the first time interim bail has been granted to him for family functions. In December 2023, he received a seven-day interim bail for a family wedding, and earlier in 2022 he was granted a week-long bail to attend another sister’s marriage ceremony.
Khalid’s regular bail pleas have seen multiple rejections. The Delhi High Court denied him bail in October 2022, following which he approached the Supreme Court but later withdrew his special leave petition. A second regular bail plea before the trial court was also rejected, prompting another challenge before the High Court. On September 2, 2024, a division bench observed that Khalid’s prima facie role in the alleged conspiracy appeared “grave,” citing purported inflammatory speeches intended to mobilize members of the Muslim community.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court reserved its judgment on bail pleas filed by Khalid, along with co-accused Sharjeel Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and others.
FIR 59 of 2020, registered by the Delhi Police Special Cell, names several accused including Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Safoora Zargar, Natasha Narwal and others, under the Indian Penal Code and UAPA provisions in connection with the alleged conspiracy preceding the 2020 riots.
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Cong leader Pradeep Eshwar raises doubts over CJ Roy’s death, asks if he shot himself or was shot
Bengaluru: Congress leader and Chikballapura MLA Pradeep Eshwara raised doubts over the death of Businessman CJ Roy amid IT raids at his office in Bengaluru. He was addressing press persons in the city on Saturday.
“Did he really shoot himself using a pistol or did someone shoot him?,” Eshwar stated, raising suspicion.
C.J. Roy allegedly committed suicide on Friday. According to reports, the 57-year-old Confident Group Chairman allegedly shot himself using a pistol during Income Tax Raids at the Confident Group’s headquarters in Langford Town here.
Several media reports have claimed that Roy took the extreme over severe stress following repeated Income Tax raids on companies linked to him.
Speaking after a talent award ceremony for SSLC and PUC students held during the ongoing Kanakotsava celebrations in Kanakapura, he stated that there was no CCTV footage from the scene of the incident and that only Income Tax Department officials were present at the time. “We do not know what happened inside,” he added.
Furthermore, Eshwar alleged that as per his preliminary information, the Bharatiya Janata Party had forced Roy to find crores of rupees for elections. “They (BJP) were targeting Roy for refusing to give money. Our country cannot develop with such a corrupt BJP,” he said.
He also questioned the BJP’s silence over the issue, he asked, “Not only Ashokanna, Sunilanna, Yatnal, but also a monkey from Mysuru who keeps talking about everything. Why is no one speaking out about this?”
“The BJP is not allowing a common man to earn money. Roy has no debt, no problem. Income Tax officials have been harassing him for the past one month. If BJP is at the Centre, this harassment will continue,” he said, demanding an SIT investigation into the case.
SIT formed to probe the case
Meanwhile, Bengaluru Police on Saturday announced the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the death of C.J. Roy.
In a statement, police said that Bengaluru City Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh has ordered a comprehensive and meticulous investigation into the case and transferred the probe to the SIT. The team will be headed by Joint Commissioner of Police (West Zone) C. Vamshi Krishna.
