Travesty of justice: Mehbooba Mufti on SC's refusal to grant bail to Umar Khalid

Srinagar, Jan 5 (PTI) PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said the Supreme Court denying bail to activist Umar Khalid in the 2020 Delhi riots case is a "travesty of justice", while rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim has been repeatedly granted parole.

The Supreme Court on Monday refused bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case but granted it to five others, citing "hierarchy of participation" and saying all accused in the case do not stand on the same footing.

There was a prima facie case against Khalid and Imam under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria said.

"What a travesty of justice. On one hand Gurmeet Singh convicted for rape and murder continues to receive parole after parole. On the other Umar Khalid, merely an accused yet to face trial, has been languishing in jail for over five years & repeatedly denied bail by no less than the Supreme Court of India today. The scales of justice are breaking under the burden of injustice," Mehbooba said in a post on X.

Those granted bail by the Supreme Court are activists Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.

The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. PTI MIJ DIV DIV