“I can demonstrate in twenty minutes that there is no case at all,” Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal pleaded before the Supreme Court on Thursday as a Bench comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Dipankar Datta adjourned the hearing of activist and former JNU scholar Umar Khalid’s bail plea once again owing to the paucity of time. The court directed the matter to be listed on November 1 within the first five items on that day.
Mr. Khalid has been arrested and charged under the anti-terror legislation Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967 (UAPA), on allegations of being part of a larger conspiracy responsible for the North East Delhi riots of February 2020. He moved the top court in April this year after he was denied bail by the Karkardooma Court in March 2022 and the Delhi High Court in October 2022.
September 13 marked three years since the activist’s arrest — with the trial court yet to frame charges in his case and the Supreme Court adjourning his bail hearing seven times since issuing notice on the plea. The reasons for the repeated adjournments range from the police seeking more time to file their reply, a judge recusing himself, and the case being listed on a miscellaneous day, to paucity of time and the unavailability of Mr. Khalid’s counsel.
