Facing an application by JNU activist Umar Khalid for an e-copy of the chargesheet filed against him for charges framed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in the Delhi 2020 riots, the government has acceded to his demand before a Delhi court earlier today.
"It has been 1.5 months almost, but I still don't know what the allegations against me are. This is against my right to a fair trial," he submitted.
His counsel submitted that he merely used to get about half an hour to meet his client, though the chargesheet ran into thousands of pages, therefore he prayed for Khalid to be given a copy of his chargesheet to study it and come back with due instructions.
The lawyer claimed similar relief had also been given to co-accused and Pinjra Tod activist Devangana Kalita.
At this point, co-accused Sharjeel Imam submitted that such a relief may be passed for all the co-accused, and further stated that, "while the riots were happening I was in jail, I have no role to play in them." He said he had spent 2 months in jail reading media reports, speculating about the charges against him.
Highlighting issues faced by the accused persons in prison, another accused, Athar Khan, said to the court that every time he had gone out for medical consulting, he had been quarantined for 14 days, during which time he was put in an isolated cell where there was little to no light. He said was "not even allowed to meet his counsel" during the period.
He added that jail officials who went outside almost everyday were not quarantined, but he was, therefore he himself was at risk of contracting the infection from one of the officials.
Special Public Prosecutor, Amit Prasad, submitted on behalf of the Government that so far as Umar Khalid's plea was concerned there were no issues, a copy of the chargesheet would be provided on the jail computer, and he could access it there. He also submitted with respect to Athar's request that the quarantine period was decided by a High Power Committee, and was already being looked into.
After taking note of the various concerns of the accused persons, and the submissions of the government in respect thereof, the court adjourned the hearing to 19.01.2021. Judicial custody of all the accused persons has also been extended till such time.
In a previous hearing Khalid had said that his lawyers had not received a copy of the chargesheet till Jan 4, but the media had reported on the Delhi Police's charge of conspiracy against him in the last week of December 2020.
