Delhi: Activist Umar Khalid surrendered himself at Delhi’s Tihar jail on Sunday, December 29, after completing his 14-day interim bail period to attend his sister’s wedding.
A Delhi court allowed Khalid temporary release from December 16 to December 29, with a gag order, restricting him from meeting any individual outside his family and friends circle. He had been instructed not to use any social media and to strictly remain at his home or at the places where the wedding ceremonies took place.
The court granted Khalid interim bail, observing that it was the marriage of his own sister. It directed the activist to submit a personal bond of Rs 20,000 along with two sureties of the same amount.
Videos of Khalid with his family post-release were bittersweet, as he reunited with loved ones, and later said goodbye at the prison gates following the fourteen days of relief.
In 2022, Khalid was granted a week-long reprieve from December 23 to December 30, similarly for a wedding. The bail issued by Delhi’s Karkardooma Court under specific guidelines included a gag order, preventing him from speaking to the media or giving interviews.
The 38-year-old, who has a PhD from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), had been in jail since September 2020, under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots that claimed over 40 Muslim lives, more than 700 injuries, and left several homeless.
The police have accused him and several other activists, including Sharjeel Imam, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa Ur Rehman, Athar Khan, Meeran Haider, Abdul Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Fatima and Shadab, of “instigating the riots.”
The courts have repeatedly denied them bail, stating “conspiratorial violence under the garb of demonstrations or protests by citizens couldn’t be allowed.”
He has appealed to the Supreme Court, and the case is pending.
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