NEW DELHI, May 20 -- A Delhi court on Tuesday denied interim bail to former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student activist Umar Khalid in the northeast Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, holding that the grounds cited for relief were not reasonable.

The order was passed by additional sessions judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma courts.

Khalid, through his counsel Sahil Ghai, had sought 15 days' interim bail on two grounds - to attend the 40th day ceremony (Chehlum) of his deceased uncle and to visit his mother, who is scheduled to undergo surgery.

The prosecution, led by special public prosecutor Anirudh Mishra, opposed the plea, arguing that Khalid was misusing the court's leniency and that the grounds cited were not justifi...