Court Denies Bail to former JNU student Umar Khalid in Delhi riots larger conspiracy case
Umar Khalid: The court reserved the order on March 3 after hearing arguments from the council appearing for Khalid and the prosecution. During the argument, the accused had said that the prosecution had lacked the evidence to prove its case against him.
A district court of Delhi denied bail to former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student's leader Umar Khalid in connections with a “larger conspiracy” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Case was registered against him on the grounds of alleged connection with the Northeast Delhi riots in 2020.
The order was issued by Additional Session Judge Amitabh Rawat at the Karkardooma district court. For the last eight months, he has been hearing the bail plea. On March 14, the trial judge granted Ishrat Jahan the first bail. On March 16, the Court also refused bail to two other accused, Gulfisha and Tasleem Ahmed.
The student leader is charged with IPC sections for inciting riots, spreading religious animosity, and delivering inflammatory speeches for allegedly "pre-planning" the communal riot occurrences of February 2020.
The court reserved the order on March 3 after hearing arguments from the council appearing for Khalid and the prosecution. During the argument, the accused had said that the prosecution had lacked the evidence to prove its case against him.
Meanwhile, opposing the bail plea, Special Public prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad had argued on the relevance of speech which was given by Umar Khalid in Febraury 2020.
Senior Advocate Trideep Pais, who represented Umar Khalid in the case, contended that the whole charge sheet issued by Delhi Police in the charge is a fabrication and that the evidence against him is primarily built on video excerpts shown by two TV networks that outlined a shortened version of his speech. Pais also argued that the statements of the witnesses is nothing but half-baked truth and that they were ‘handpicked’ by the Delhi police.
The violence was erupted during the protest against the CAA and the National Register of Citizens. whereas, Umar Khalid, activist Khalid Saifi, JNU students Natasha Narwal and devangana Kalita, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, former AAp councilor Tahir Hussain and several others had been booked under the stringent law in the case.
