The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned until January 24 the hearing of former Jawaharlal Nehru University student leader Umar Khalid’s pleas including for his bail, indicating no further adjournment shall be granted as an impression goes out that the matter was not being taken up.
Khalid has also challenged the validity of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act’s Section 43D, which places stringent conditions for granting bail.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who appeared for Khalid, requested a bench of justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal for an adjournment saying he was busy with a separate case. Additional solicitor-general SV Raju was also unavailable, leaving the court with no option but to adjourn the matter. In November, the matter was adjourned on Sibal and Raju’s request.
Khalid, who was arrested in September 2020 for his alleged role in the February 2020 riots in north-east Delhi, moved the top court in April against the Delhi high court’s order denying him bail. He has sought bail citing the police’s failure in substantiating the charges against him and inconsistencies in the evidence cited.
