Delhi riots 2020: HC denies bail to Athar Khan in UAPA case

NEW DELHI , 7 July :  The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to grant bail to Athar Khan in a case under the anti-terror law UAPA concerning the “larger conspiracy” behind the February 2020 riots in the city’s northeastern parts.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain dismissed Athar’s appeal challenging the trial court’s January 29 order that denied him relief in the case, stating that he was but “one of the main conspirators who conspired to cause deaths during the riots” and not a “mere local-level operator”.

Athar’s counsel sought bail on the grounds that he was a “local-level facilitator” who had been in custody for six years, and that similarly placed co-accused had been granted bail by the Supreme Court.