In the Delhi Riots Case, Umar Khalid told the Delhi court that he has already spent five years in custody and opposed the framing of charges, saying, “This FIR doesn’t have the sanctity of law, it’s a joke.”
Activist Umar Khalid expressed his opposition to the framing of charges in the “larger conspiracy” case related to the 2020 Delhi riots during a hearing in a Delhi court.
He argued that he has spent five years in custody over what he described as a “joke of an FIR,” claiming that evidence has been fabricated to implicate him.
The hearing on the charges was presided over by Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai.
Khalid’s lawyer, senior advocate Trideep Pais, stated,
“I have spent five years in custody in this joke of an FIR. This FIR doesn’t have the sanctity of law.”
The investigation is being conducted by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police.
Mr. Pais challenged the necessity of the FIR, highlighting that the prosecution claimed 51 innocent people died, while those deaths are being investigated through 751 separate FIRs.
He asserted that the prosecution initially targeted a specific individual before fabricating evidence to support their case against Khalid.
He explained,
“You first decide ‘isko pakadna hai’ (this person has to be caught)… then reverse engineering takes place,”
He further emphasized the lack of connections to the actual offenses and noted the distance from any recovery of evidence.
Mr. Pais referenced multiple trial court orders regarding the 2020 riots in northeast Delhi, where judges criticized the investigative agency while acquitting the accused.
He remarked,
“Please see the falsehood of the chargesheet, the manner in which it peddles lies. This (Khalid) is a person who was not there,”
The court has scheduled the next proceedings for September 17.
These riots, which erupted in February 2020, were triggered by conflicts over the proposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). According to the Delhi Police, the violence resulted in 53 deaths and numerous injuries.
The case involves allegations that the accused orchestrated a broader conspiracy aimed at inciting multiple riots. A FIR was lodged by the Special Cell of the Delhi Police, citing various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the UAPA.
Many of the accused face charges in multiple FIRs, leading to several bail petitions being filed in different courts. Most have remained in custody since 2020.
Khalid was arrested in September 2020 and faces charges of criminal conspiracy, rioting, unlawful assembly, and other offenses under the UAPA. He has been incarcerated since then and has sought bail from the High Court on two occasions.
Initially, the trial court denied his bail request in March 2022. After the High Court also rejected his plea in October 2022, he escalated the matter to the Supreme Court. In May 2023, the Supreme Court requested a response from the Delhi Police regarding his case, but his plea was adjourned 14 times.
Earlier, On February 14, 2024, Khalid withdrew his bail application from the Supreme Court, citing changed circumstances.
Following this, the trial court rejected his second bail petition on May 28, and the Delhi High Court dismissed his appeal against this decision on September 2.
In response to Khalid’s claim regarding the prolonged trial, which has kept him incarcerated for five years without conviction, the High Court pointed out that the Delhi Police had submitted a chargesheet of 3,000 pages, along with an additional 30,000 pages of electronic evidence.
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