New Delhi: Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal has sharply criticized the prolonged delays in activist Umar Khalid’s bail hearings, calling it a denial of fundamental rights. Addressing the media, he highlighted how courts failed to follow Supreme Court directives on expeditious hearings of bail applications.
Sibal pointed out that the Delhi High Court took 407 days to decide Khalid’s second bail plea in the Delhi riots conspiracy case. He added that Khalid has been in jail for four years, 11 months, and 15 days without trial. “The Supreme Court has said in many rulings that bail applications should be heard quickly. This principle has been ignored in Umar Khalid’s case,” he said.
He noted that Khalid’s first appeal in 2022 had 28 hearings over 180 days, while his 2024 appeal took 407 days before rejection. Sibal said the Supreme Court itself kept Khalid’s plea pending for 272 days, with hearings beginning in May 2023 and the petition withdrawn only in February 2024.
Responding to reports that Khalid’s counsel sought multiple adjournments, Sibal clarified that only two adjournments were requested, one in July 2023 and another in September 2023. “If the court does not give a verdict for years, are lawyers to be blamed? If bail is to be denied, then reject it, but why conduct 20 to 30 hearings?” he asked.
Questioning the charges under UAPA, Sibal expressed confidence that Khalid and others accused would ultimately be discharged once the trial begins.
