Delhi court allows Umar Khalid two weekly video calls with family
A Delhi court has allowed Umar Khalid two weekly e-mulakats with his family. The order restores a long-running arrangement after the jail reduced the facility without citing any breach.
A Delhi court has allowed jailed activist Umar Khalid to have two video meetings with his family every week, after his counsel said the facility had been reduced to one from May 2026 without any reason. The court noted that Khalid had been using the facility for the past six years without violating prison rules.
The order was passed on an application moved by Khalid, who is facing trial in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Delhi riots. Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai said Khalid could use two e-mulakats every week to speak to his mother and other family members.
In its July 13 order, the court said, "Since the applicant has been using two e-mulakats in a week for the last six years and has not violated any rule of the Delhi Prisons Rules, the applicant is allowed to have two e-mulakats per week for the purpose of talking to his mother and other family members".
Khalid's counsel told the court that since his incarceration, he had been allowed two e-mulakats every week. However, the facility was cut to one from May 2026 without any reason, despite there being no violation of prison rules on his part.
The jail authorities opposed the plea and said that under the applicable prison rules, Khalid was entitled to only one e-mulakat per week. The court, however, said he had been availing two weekly e-mulakats for the last six years and had not violated any provision of the Delhi Prison Rules during this period.
Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and several others were booked under the UAPA and provisions of the IPC on allegations that they were the "masterminds" behind the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi.
The violence broke out amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens, leaving 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The court's order restores Khalid's earlier arrangement of two weekly video meetings with his family.
A Delhi court has allowed jailed activist Umar Khalid to have two video meetings with his family every week, after his counsel said the facility had been reduced to one from May 2026 without any reason. The court noted that Khalid had been using the facility for the past six years without violating prison rules.
The order was passed on an application moved by Khalid, who is facing trial in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Delhi riots. Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai said Khalid could use two e-mulakats every week to speak to his mother and other family members.
In its July 13 order, the court said, "Since the applicant has been using two e-mulakats in a week for the last six years and has not violated any rule of the Delhi Prisons Rules, the applicant is allowed to have two e-mulakats per week for the purpose of talking to his mother and other family members".
Khalid's counsel told the court that since his incarceration, he had been allowed two e-mulakats every week. However, the facility was cut to one from May 2026 without any reason, despite there being no violation of prison rules on his part.
The jail authorities opposed the plea and said that under the applicable prison rules, Khalid was entitled to only one e-mulakat per week. The court, however, said he had been availing two weekly e-mulakats for the last six years and had not violated any provision of the Delhi Prison Rules during this period.
Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and several others were booked under the UAPA and provisions of the IPC on allegations that they were the "masterminds" behind the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi.
The violence broke out amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens, leaving 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The court's order restores Khalid's earlier arrangement of two weekly video meetings with his family.
