Umar Khalid spent four years in jail as delays continue in the framing of charges under the UAPA in his case. The activist arrested in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots, but the legal proceedings have moved slowly. Despite the prolonged detention, charges are yet to be formally framed. This extended delay raised concerns over the pace of justice in UAPA cases.
New Delhi: Former JNU student and activist Umar Khalid has now spent four years in prison following his arrest in connection with the 2020 communal riots in northeast Delhi. The violence erupted on February 24, 2020, during clashes between supporters and opponents of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), resulting in at least 53 deaths and around 200 injuries.
Although Khalid acquitted in December 2022 in a case related to alleged rioting, vandalism, and arson at a parking lot during the February 2020 unrest, he remains in jail due to a second case. This case, filed under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sections of the Indian Penal Code, accuses him of being a key instigator of the riots.
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Khalid, a 36-year-old researcher and scholar, was arrested on September 13, 2020. Although chargesheets filed in 2020 and 2022, the framing of charges has been delayed, and his bail applications have been repeatedly denied. Additionally, Khalid challenged the constitutional validity of certain provisions of the UAPA in the Supreme Court, but this petition is still pending.
The UAPA amended in 2019, granting the central government the authority to label individuals as “terrorists.” The FIR in the second case against Khalid lodged on March 6, 2020, with UAPA charges added on April 19, 2020. The primary charge sheet submitted on September 16, 2020, followed by a supplementary charge sheet on October 22 of the same year.
The second supplementary chargesheet in Umar Khalid’s case submitted on February 23, 2022, followed by the third on March 2, and the fourth on June 7, 2022. On September 4, a special court allowed the prosecution to begin arguments on framing charges against the accused, while dismissing applications by some co-accused who sought confirmation on whether the investigation was complete.
However, on September 12, the Delhi High Court directed the trial court not to finalize the framing of charges until September 23. This order came during a hearing of a petition by riots accused Devangana Kalita, who requested access to certain videos and WhatsApp chats related to two cases, including one under the UAPA.
Earlier, on December 5, 2022, a court acquitted Umar Khalid and United Against Hate founder Khalid Saifi in the first case related to the riots. The court noted that the allegations against them were part of an “umbrella conspiracy” a larger, overarching conspiracy involving multiple smaller ones. The FIR in that case was based on a statement by Constable Sangram Singh, who reported that a mob had pelted stones and set vehicles ablaze on Main Karawal Nagar Road on February 24, 2020.
Meanwhile, Khalid’s first bail request was denied by a special court on March 24, 2022, and his appeal was rejected by the Delhi High Court on October 18 of the same year. The court noted that he had been in regular contact with other co-accused, and the allegations against him appeared to be prima facie true. The high court also remarked that his actions seemingly qualified as a “terrorist act” under the UAPA.
The Delhi High Court noted that the anti-CAA protests “metamorphosed into violent riots,” which “prima facie seemed to be orchestrated at conspiratorial meetings,” with witness statements suggesting Khalid’s “active involvement” in the unrest. Following the High Court’s rejection of his bail application, Khalid appealed to the Supreme Court.
His bail plea had been pending before the Supreme Court since April 6, 2023, with proceedings adjourned 13 times for various reasons. On February 14, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Khalid, informed the court that Khalid wished to withdraw the application due to a “change in circumstances.”
Sibal said,
“I wish to argue the legal question (challenging UAPA provisions) but want to withdraw the bail plea due to a change in circumstances. We will try our luck in the trial court.”
However, on May 28, a special court rejected Khalid’s second regular bail application, stating that the previous order from March 2022, which denied his first bail plea, had attained finality. The court also dismissed the argument made by Khalid’s counsel that the Supreme Court’s stance on “prima facie evidence” shifted after bail was granted to activists Vernon Gonsalves and Shoma Kanti Sen in the Elgar Parishad case.
In Vernon’s case, Khalid’s counsel argued that during bail considerations, “no deep analysis of the facts can be done, only a surface analysis of the probative value of the evidence.”
However, the court noted,
“The High Court conducted a surface analysis of the probative value of the evidence and concluded that a prima facie case is made out against the applicant.”
On July 22, 2023, a Delhi High Court judge recused himself from hearing Khalid’s bail plea without giving a reason, leaving the matter pending.
The charges against Khalid are supported by testimonies from several protected witnesses. One witness, codenamed Bond, claimed that on December 13, 2019, at Jamia Campus, a meeting took place between Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Asif Iqbal Tanha, and others, where they discussed initiating a chakka jam (roadblock) in Delhi.
Bond stated,
“Umar told Sharjeel to start chakka jam at Shaheen Bagh and Asif and Saiful Islam to initiate it at Jamia’s Gate No. 7. Umar Khalid said they would expand the roadblocks to other Muslim areas of Delhi and eventually overthrow the Hindu government when the time was right.”
Another protected witness, Saturn, alleged that Khalid and others met former AAP councillor Tahir Hussain at the PFI office in Shaheen Bagh. Additionally, on February 10, 2020, Khalid reportedly met protesters at an event organized by the Welfare Party of India in Jahangir Puri.
According to witness statements from Helium and Crypton,
“Umar Khalid said that since Bangladeshis live there, they should be informed about the CAA and encouraged to oppose the law.”
The chargesheet also mentions that Khalid gave a speech on February 17, 2020, in Amravati, Maharashtra, where he referred to the visit of then U.S. President Donald Trump.
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A protected witness, codenamed BEETA, stated that the riots during Trump’s visit were orchestrated by the Jamia Coordination Committee, along with groups like Pinjra Tod, AISA, United Against Hate (UAH), and PFI.
The witness claimed,
“They used to give provocative speeches,”
Khalid, along with other JNU students, previously been arrested by Delhi Police in February 2016 for allegedly raising anti-national slogans at an event protesting the hanging of Afzal Guru, the mastermind behind the Parliament attack. They later granted bail.