Delhi Court rejects Umar Khalid’s interim bail plea for mother’s surgery and Religious ritual

A Delhi court has rejected activist Umar Khalid’s plea seeking interim bail to attend a family ritual and care for his ailing mother.

The court, while hearing the matter, observed that the reasons cited for temporary release were not “reasonable” enough to grant bail. Khalid had sought 15 days of interim bail to attend his uncle’s Chehlum ceremony and to assist his mother, who is scheduled to undergo surgery.

This comes shortly after the Supreme Court expressed “serious reservations” over earlier bail rejection orders in the case, referring to established legal principles that emphasize bail in cases of prolonged incarceration and delayed trials, including under stringent laws like UAPA.

Khalid, along with several others, has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sections of the IPC in connection with the 2020 northeast Delhi riots that left 53 people dead and hundreds injured during protests against the CAA and NRC.