The Delhi High Court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of former JNU student Umar Khalid, arrested in connection with the 2020 north-east Delhi riots case.
"We don't find any merit in the bail plea," the High Court said while dismising plea of Mr. Khalid who has been charged under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for allegedly being one of the ‘masterminds’ and instigator behind the 2020 riots.
Mr. Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020, and has been in custody since.
Trial court order
On March 24, 2022, a trial court here had denied bail to Mr. Khalid stating that there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that the accusations against him were prima facie true.
In his appeal against the trial court’s order, the former JNU student had argued that he was not present when the violence broke out. Mr. Khalid has also argued that the case is based on cooked-up statements. His counsel had earlier argued that he has been in jail for the last two years based on a protected witness’ hearsay statement which had not been corroborated so far.
He had said that the use of the word ‘revolution’ during his speech in Amravati in February 2020 could not be construed as a call to violence.
‘Rightly dismissed’
In its response to Mr. Khalid’s bail plea, the Delhi police had said the trial court had “rightly dismissed” his plea for release through a “well-reasoned order”.
Delhi Police has opposed Mr. Khalid’s bail plea saying that the role played by different entities – WhatsApp groups and individuals in pursuance to the conspiracy behind the riots – would be clearly demonstrated by the trial court orders, rejecting bail to the other co-accused in the case.
Mr. Khalid, another JNU student Sharjeel Imam, and several others have been booked under the UAPA in the case for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots that left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The riots erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens.
