Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader Umar Khalid has decided to withdraw his plea for bail from the Supreme Court on Wednesday in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy case. This move comes after facing repeated adjournments in court proceedings.

Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Khalid, informed the division bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Justices Bela M Trivedi and Pankaj Mithal, about the decision to withdraw the bail plea. Sibal cited a change in circumstances and expressed intentions to approach the trial court afresh. Additionally, Sibal withdrew another plea challenging the validity of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

While Sibal did not provide specifics regarding the change in circumstances, the bench accepted the request for withdrawal of the bail plea. The Union government, represented by Additional Solicitor General SV Raju and Advocate Rajat Nair, questioned the locus of the petitioners, namely the NGOs challenging the validity of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, during the proceedings.

Umar Khalid had approached the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court denied him bail. The High Court, in its decision on October 18 last year, rejected Khalid’s appeal seeking regular bail. Khalid had contested the trial court’s decision to deny him bail in connection with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act case, which stemmed from alleged offensive speeches he delivered during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens in Amaravati.

Khalid, along with fellow JNU scholar and activist Sharjeel Imam, is among nearly a dozen individuals implicated in the alleged larger conspiracy case related to the riots, according to Delhi Police. The riots erupted in February 2020 in the national capital, escalating from clashes between anti-CAA and pro-CAA protesters, resulting in over 50 casualties and more than 700 injuries.