[Delhi Riots] Umar Khalid moves bail, Delhi Court fixes hearing on July 27

A Delhi court will hear on July 27, 2021, the bail application filed by Umar Khalid in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case related to the Delhi Riots of February 2020 (State v. Tahir Hussain & Others).

Senior Advocate Trideep Pais today informed Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat about moving the bail plea for Khalid and sought a date for fixing the date of hearing.

Meanwhile, Advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir argued for bail of co-accused Sharjeel Imam, who is still in judicial custody in a case under Section 124A (Sedition), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups), 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13 (Unlawful Activities) of the UAPA .

Referring to Imam's speeches made during the relevant time, Mir said that his client never intended to create any disaffection towards the State and that by no means could his speech be called seditious.

"If the intent of the person is to cause sedition, riots, then he would have said ki jab tak aap carein, busein nahi jalayenge tab tak koi nahi sunega, (unless you set cars, buses on fire, no one's going to listen to you) but he doesn't say so. What's he is in custody for?" asked Mir.

Imam's counsel also read out a portion of his client's speech where he spoke about "cutting off some cities".

"He asked for blocking roads. It was not sedition. When the call rail roko is not seditious, why is the call of bringing the country to a standstill seditious?

He talks about issues that society faces and says we must unite and calls on the community to realise if the government policy of CAA, NRC is good, bad or ugly. Where is this causing disaffection?" Mir asked.

Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad later contended that Imam's speech should be read in totality and he would like to read it in its entirety when his turn comes.

Imam's bail would be heard again on August 2.

The Delhi police's chargesheet in the conspiracy case alleges that Imam was the “mastermind” of the Shaheen Bagh blockade. It also alleges that in the late afternoon of December 15, 2019, Imam, with the help of Jamia student Arshad Warsi and his accomplices, started a 24x7 permanent road block (chakka jam) of road number 13, Kalindi Kunj Road at Shaheen Bagh.