Supreme Court Questions Own Bail Denial Ruling in Delhi Riots Conspiracy Case

New Delhi. India's Supreme Court has questioned its own previous decision not to grant bail to Umar Khalid in the Delhi riots conspiracy case.

According to the legal online portal 'Live Law', the court pointed out that the said decision did not properly follow the decision in the case of 'Union of India versus KA Najeeb' made by a three-judge bench in 2021.

It was mentioned in that precedent that bail can be granted in cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) if the trial of the case is prolonged for a long time. Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Ujjal Bhuiyan made such remarks while approving the bail of Syed Iftikhar Andrabi.

Andrabi has been in jail for the past 6 years and is accused of funding 'terrorism' through drug trafficking. The court said during the hearing, 'The decision of the larger bench of the Supreme Court was not followed in the decision not to grant bail to Umar Khalid. Bail is the rule and jail is the exception, this principle applies even in strict laws like UAPA.'

In addition, the court expressed dissatisfaction with the decision in 'Gurvinder Singh versus Union of India' made in 2024. The court expressed dissatisfaction because the precedent established in the KA Najeeb case was not applied in that decision.