NEW DELHI: A Supreme Court judge Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra on Wednesday recused from hearing the bail plea of former Jawaharlal Nehru student Umar Khalid, arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in connection with the case of larger conspiracy in 2020 Delhi riots.
A bench of Justices A S Bopanna and Mishra was supposed to hear the bail plea of accused Khalid.
As soon as the matter came up for hearing, Justice Bopanna said, this will come before some other bench. "There is some difficulty on part of my brother judge," he said.
On May 18, the court had issued notice to the Delhi Police on the bail petition by Khalid, who was arrested by the Delhi Police on September 13, 2020 and charged with criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly as well as under provisions of the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and remained in jail since then.
Khalid had initially moved the Karkardooma Court in March 2022, seeking bail, but it had rejected his bail plea. He had then moved the Delhi High Court challenging it, and it was also rejected by the HC, in October 2022, forcing him to knock the doors of the Supreme Court for relief.
Khalid, a former researcher from JNU, is one of the accused in the larger conspiracy case relating to the 2020 North-East Delhi communal riots case.
In its order on October 18, 2022, the High Court had dismissed the bail plea by Khalid in the case related larger conspiracy in 2020 Delhi riots, "orchestrated" during anti CAA-NRC protests, while drawing "inescapable conclusion" that his involvement in "a priori terrorists acts" are "prima facie true".
A bench of Justices Rajneesh Bhatnagar and Siddharth Mridul had noted that different protected witnesses have stated the role of Khalid and other accused persons with regard to violence, riots, finance and weapons.
Delhi Police filed the first chargesheet on September 16, 2020. Since then, five supplementary chargesheets have been filed.
In this case, 20 persons, including Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Tahir Hussain, Natasha Narwal, Devangna Kalita, Safoora Zargar, Ishrat Jahan and others have been arrayed as accused. Two accused persons Suleman Siddiqui alias Salman and Amanullah have been declared proclaimed offenders in 2020.
