A Delhi court on Wednesday, 2 December, extended the judicial custody by 14 days of former JNU student leader Umar Khalid who had been arrested in the communal northeast Delhi riots in February, reported PTI.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dinesh Kumar noted that there was sufficient basis for the extension of Khalid’s custody till 16 December. In the hearing for the violence in the Khajuri Khas area of northeast Delhi, the court noted there was no scope for a hearing to oppose the remand application because Khalid’s lawyer is yet to file a bail application, reported PTI.
The court noted, "No doubt remand of an accused should not be extended mechanically. However, there is no scope of hearing the counsel of the accused and giving him/her opportunity to oppose the remand application whenever the remand is to be extended”, reported PTI.
Umar Khalid was arrested on 1 October in the case related to rioting in Khajuri Khas area. He was also arrested in September in a separate case related to larger conspiracy in the riots under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The Delhi Police, on 22 November filed a 200-page charge sheet against Khalid and student activists Sharjeel Imam and Faizan Khan accusing them for “remotely controlling” the riot that claimed the lives of 53 people and injured over 200.
(With inputs from PTI)
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