New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday rejected the interim bail plea of Umar Khalid, an accused in the 2020 Delhi riots “larger conspiracy” case, who sought temporary relief to attend the Chehlum ceremony of his late uncle and to take care of his mother ahead of and after her scheduled surgery.Additional sessions judge Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma courts dismissed the application seeking interim bail for 15 days on the two grounds. Khalid said his mother’s medical procedure is scheduled for June 2.“No doubt, on previous occasions, as mentioned by the ld. counsel for the applicant, not only the applicant but other co-accused persons have been granted interim bail and they never flouted the conditions as imposed by the court, but it doesn’t mean that on every occasion, whenever the accused seeks bail, the court should grant it. The court has to consider every fresh application on its own merits and should allow the same only when the grounds are reasonable,” the judge said.The court further held that attending the Chehlum ceremony was not sufficiently necessary to justify interim bail. It observed that if the relationship with the deceased uncle was so “immediate and thick”, Khalid would have sought release at the time of death, and not after considerable delay.Regarding his mother’s surgery, the court referred to Khalid’s own submission that he has five sisters who could attend to her needs, apart from his father. “Further, as said by the prosecution, the surgery is very simple i.e. just for removal of lumps and there seems to be no actual requirement or help from the side of the applicant. Accordingly, finding the reasons unreasonable, the court doesn’t deem it appropriate to grant the desired relief to the applicant,” it stated.Khalid had argued that, as the eldest of the siblings, he was responsible for managing his mother’s pre- and post-surgery care, especially since four of his sisters were married and his father was 71 years old. He also sought parity with co-accused such as Shifa Ur Rehman and Athar Khan, who were earlier granted interim relief on similar grounds.Opposing the plea, Delhi Police contended that no exceptional or urgent circumstance existed warranting Khalid’s interim bail. Khalid, who has been in custody for nearly six years, faces charges under stringent provisions of UAPA, Arms Act, Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, and IPC in the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots.