The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed the bail plea filed by Athar Khan, who has been booked in the 2020 North-East Delhi riots "larger conspiracy" case.

A division bench comprising Justice Prathiba M Singh and Justice Madhu Jain upheld the trial court order denying bail to him.

The Court observed that if granted bail, Khan will likely be a flight risk in light of the statements given by protected witnesses.

While reserving the verdict in May, the Court had orally observed that Khan's WhatsApp chats prima facie prove conspiracy.

Athar Khan sought bail on grounds of parity with Shadab Ahmad, who was granted bail by the Supreme Court.

Advocate Arjun Dewar appeared for Khan. Delhi Police was represented by ASG SV Raju and Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey.

Khan challenged the trial court order passed on January 29 denying him bail in the UAPA case.

The accused in the case are facing charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Indian Penal Code for allegedly formulating the "larger conspiracy" behind the communal riots which took place in the national capital in the last week of February 2020.

The accused in the case are Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Isharat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan, Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal.

Case title: Athar Khan v State