UAPA Case: Ex-JNU Student Umar Khalid Withdraws Bail Plea Before SC, Says ‘Will Approach Lower Court’

After facing repeated adjournments, JNU student leader Umar Khalid on Wednesday withdrew his plea before the Supreme Court seeking bail in the larger conspiracy case.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal while making a request for withdrawal told the division bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal that there is a change of circumstance.

“We’re making a request for withdrawal since there is a change of circumstance and we will approach the trial court afresh,” said Sibal. He also withdrew his another plea challenging the vires of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The senior lawyer, however, did not elaborate on the change in circumstances. The bench hearing the plea accepted the request of Sibal and ordered for withdrawal of the bail plea of Khalid.

The Union government represented by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju along with Advocate Rajat Nair questioned the locus of the Petitioners i.e. the NGOs challenging the vires of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

“The petition could only be filed by the persons against whom proceedings have been initiated under the Act,” argued Raju assisted by Nair.

Khalid has approached the top court against the denial of bail by the Delhi High Court. A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar of the High Court rejected Khalid’s appeal seeking regular bail on October 18 last year.

He had challenged the trial court order which had denied him bail in connection with the UAPA case.

His alleged offensive speeches delivered in Amaravati during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens were the basis of allegations against him in the riots case.

JNU scholars and activists, Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, are among the nearly a dozen people involved in the alleged larger conspiracy case linked with the riots as per Delhi Police.

The riots broke out in the national capital in February 2020 as clashes between the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and pro-CAA protesters took a violent turn, in which more than 50 people lost their lives and over 700 were injured.