The Supreme Court on Tuesday (31 October) took a big step regarding former JNU student Umar Khalid. The top court sought response from the central government on Khalid's petition challenging various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act i.e. UAPA.

The bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi also said in its order that the court will hear such petitions on this issue on November 22. The apex court said it will also hear on the same date Khalid's plea seeking bail in the case registered under UAPA for his alleged involvement in the conspiracy behind the February 2020 Northeast Delhi riots.

“We will hear all the petitions together,” the bench said. Let us tell you that Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and many others were accused of being the "masterminds" of the Delhi riots of February 2020, for which a case was registered against them under the anti-terrorism law UAPA. 53 people were killed and more than 700 were injured in the Delhi riots.

Umar Khalid was arrested in September 2020. Khalid has sought bail from the court on the grounds that he neither had any criminal role in the violence nor any conspiratorial link with any other accused in the case.

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