Today, 13th May, A Delhi court reserved its order on the bail plea of Umar Khalid in a UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) case. Khalid, a former student leader, is facing charges related to alleged involvement in a larger conspiracy case. The court’s decision on his bail application is pending as legal proceedings unfold.
New Delhi: The Karkardooma Court in Delhi reserved its decision on the bail application of Umar Khalid in the larger Conspiracy of Delhi riots case of 2020. Umar Khalid, a former student leader at JNU, has been in custody since September 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). He sought for regular bail, citing delay in the proceedings and seeking parity with other accused individuals.
Special judge Sameer Bajpai reserved the order after a detailed hearing from both sides. The court scheduled to announce its decision on May 28. The Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) representing the Delhi Police opposed the bail plea, dismissing it as frivolous and unfounded. The SPP also submitted written arguments opposing the application.
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Umar Khalid‘s defence counsel argued that there, no evidence to support his involvement in any terrorist activities and that his name had been mentioned repeatedly in the charge sheet without substantial proof. The defence emphasized that the repetition of his name does not establish his guilt. The counsel also mentioned a biased media trial against Umar Khalid. Written submissions supporting his bail plea also filed.
According to the Delhi Police‘s allegations, Umar Khalid organized pre-planned protests at 23 locations in 2020, which led to the riots. In February, after withdrawing his bail plea from the Supreme Court, Khalid approached the trial court seeking bail based on a change in circumstances and seeking parity with other co-accused individuals.
Senior advocate Tridip Pais challenged the claims made by the Delhi police, asking,
“Is sending messages considered a criminal or terrorist act?”
He also addressed the submissions made by the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP), who alleged that Khalid collaborating with others to promote a certain narrative by sharing specific links on social media and with individuals involved in politics.
Pais argued that Umar Khalid sharing an accurate narrative and highlighted the existence of a biased media trial against him. He mentioned various statements made by news anchors from different media channels, accusing them of continuously reading from the charge sheet. Pais further contended about insufficient evidence to support a terrorism case against Umar Khalid, and the police lacked substantial material in this regard. He urged the court to assess whether there is a legitimate basis for charging Khalid with terrorism, given the contradictions in the statements provided by prosecution witnesses.
Pais also pointed out that Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who played similar roles to Umar Khalid, granted bail by the High Court. In opposition to Umar Khalid‘s bail application, the Delhi police claimed that his chats revealed a pattern of creating media and social media narratives to influence bail hearings.
Read Also: Umar Khalid Seeks Bail in North East Delhi Violence Case
The Special Public Prosecutor cited posts on platforms like X (previously known as Twitter) by Teesta Setalvad, Amnesty India, Akar Patel, Raj Kaushik, Swati Chaturvedi, Arju Ahmed, and others as examples of attempts to influence bail hearings. The SPP also referred to Umar Khalid’s WhatsApp chats.
The Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) stated,
“The WhatsApp chats indicate that he routinely crafts media and social media narratives when bail applications are scheduled, aiming to sway the hearings.”
The SPP further noted,
“This approach is being replicated as the applicant’s bail is under consideration, with examples of posts on X (formerly Twitter) using hashtags related to the applicant included.”
SPP Amit Prasad argued,
“Given the circumstances described, this second bail application for the accused should be denied by this honorable court to uphold justice.”
He also referenced posts on X by Teesta Setalvad, Aakar Patel, Kaushik Raj, Swati Chaturvedi, Arju Ahmed, and others.