'No Recovery, No Physical Evidence, No Terrorism Allegation; Why UAPA?' Umar Khalid Argues For Bail Before Delhi High Court

Former JNU scholar Umar Khalid today argued before the Delhi High Court as to how he was made an accused by the Delhi Police in the UAPA case alleging a larger conspiracy related to the 2020 North-East Delhi riots.

Senior Advocate Trideep Pais made the submission before a division bench comprising of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur in Khalid's appeal challenging trial court order denying him bail in the case.

Pais said that while there were many other persons who allegedly attended the conspiracy meeting, only him and Sharjeel Imam were made an accused in the case.

“How are we accused when others are not?,” he said.

Pais further contended that the basis of making “this person or that person” an accused is not even known.

“There are other people in that meeting.. With regard to the meeting where there are witness statements, there were other people in the meeting..,” Pais submitted.

Pais further said that Khalid was not even in North-East Delhi at the time of violence and that his speech in Amravati focussed on Gandhian principle of non-violence.

"There is no recovery from me or at my instance. There is no physical evidence to show my complicity. There is no allegation of procurement, raising of funds. There is no allegation of terrorist act," Pais said.

The matter will now be heard on December 12. 

The bench is hearing the bail pleas filed by Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Shifa ur Rehman, Shadab Ahmed, Athar Khan, Khalid Saifi and Gulfisha Fatima. 

Delhi Police's appeal against bail granted to accused Ishrat Jahan is also listed in the batch.

Umar Khalid was denied bail in October 2022 by a coordinate bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul. He then approached the Supreme Court but later withdrew his SLP. A second regular bail pleas was filed by him in the trial court which was rejected earlier this year. 

Khalid's appeal has now challenged rejection of his second regular bail plea. Notice in the bail plea was issued by a division bench headed by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait in August. 

Bail appeals of other accused persons are pending in the Delhi High Court since 2022.

The new division bench was allotted the bail appeals after previous benches have either recused from hearing them or could not completely hear and decide the cases.

FIR 59 of 2020 was registered by Delhi Police's Special Cell under various offences under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The accused in the case are Tahir Hussain, Umar Khalid, Khalid Saifi, Isharat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan and Natasha Narwal.

Title: Umar Khalid v. State