Court grants Delhi Police time till March 21 to file reply on Umar Khalid's bail plea

New Delhi, March 14 (IANS) A local court on Thursday granted time to Delhi Police to file a reply on a regular bail plea filed by Umar Khalid, a former student leader at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), in connection with a larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.

Special judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Court has now listed the hearing on Khalid's second regular bail application for March 21.

The judge granted time to the prosecution on special public prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad's application seeking more time.

The prosecutor submitted that a reply on the bail plea of Khalid, who has been in custody since September 2020, will be filed on March 18.

A trial court in April 2022 dismissed Khalid's first bail application, and later his appeal was also quashed by the Delhi High Court.

On February 29, the high court asked the Delhi Police to clarify whether their investigation into the UAPA case, alleging a larger conspiracy in the 2020 North-East Delhi riots, is complete or if additional charge sheets are forthcoming.

Khalid has been booked under the stringent anti-terror law -- Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) -- and several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The accused persons in this case include Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Isharat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan, and Natasha Narwal.