'Case Against Co-Accused Out On Bail Much Worse Than Mine': Umar Khalid Tells High Court In Delhi Riots Bail Hearing

Former JNU scholar Umar Khalid on Thursday told the Delhi High Court that the UAPA case, alleging a larger conspiracy into the 2020 North-East Delhi riots, against the co-accused persons who are out on bail is much worse as compared to him.

Senior Advocate Trideep Pais was making rebuttal submissions in Khalid's bail plea before a division bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur.

On the prosecution's allegation that Umar Khalid was part of various WhatsApp groups allegedly used for executing the riots, Pais submitted that merely being on WhatsApp groups, without sending any message, is no criminality.

While referring to DPSG and JCC WhatsApp groups, Pais said that apart from Khalid, two other co-accused persons- Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal, were also part of the groups who are both out on bail.

“Merely being in Whatsapp group is not criminally wrong. I haven't even spoken,” Pais said.

Pais said that Khalid had sent only five messages to the DPSG group wherein he mostly shared the location of various protest sites.

“Regarding JACT group, I have nothing to do with it. I never sent any message in the group. There is a statement that the group is created at my behest. It is hearsay,” he said.

Pais also submitted that there is no recovery, money or otherwise, effected from Khalid and that the alleged secret meeting on the night of 23-24 February 2020 was not at all secretive as claimed by the prosecution.

“Ishrat Jahan and Devangana Kalita have roles far more in terms of involvement than me…. Both are on bail…,” he said.

At this juncture, the Court asked Pais to show the change in circumstances to seek bail. To this, Pais submitted that his increased period or custody and delay in the trial, from the date of rejection of his bail plea for the first time by the trial court, is a change in circumstances and a ground of bail.

He said that the trial court (while rejecting his first regular plea) as well as the High Court (while upholding trial court order) merely accepted the witnesses' statements as it is as per Watali case but after the said ruling, it has been held that the special judge can go into a deeper analysis of the statements of witnesses under UAPA and to ascertain their probative value.

“Your lordships today have the sanction to go into the probative value of the statements and see if the offence under UAPA is made out…. One and half years of incarceration since my first bail rejection, 2 years since appeal was dismissed, now 4 years and five months of incarceration till today. Increased period of incarceration and delay of trial itself is the ground (for bail),” Pais said.

He also said that the prosecution has to examine 800 witnesses in the case and charges have not even been framed in five years.

The matter will now be heard next month.

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. 

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 and other connected matters