Khalid's speeches against CAA-NRC, not anti-India; no violence incitement; seeks bail citing 4-year detention sans trial.
Labels actions part of UAPA conspiracy for 2020 riots; opposes bail.
ASJ Bajpai reserves order post-arguments; Khalid denied bail previously by lower and high courts.
No Criminality Attributable To Umar Khalid: Counsel Tells Delhi Court
Defence argues speeches were against CAA-NRC, not anti-India; seeks bail in UAPA case, citing 4-year detention without trial commencement.
Summary
Senior advocate Trideep Pais, representing Umar Khalid, submitted before a Delhi court on Tuesday that no criminality can be attributed to the former JNU student leader in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, emphasizing his speeches opposed the CAA-NRC and were not anti-national. The arguments were made during Khalid's bail plea hearing before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai in the UAPA case registered by Delhi Police Special Cell.
Pais contended that Khalid's Amravati and Khatima speeches, cited by prosecution, contained no calls for violence and were protected under Article 19(1)(a) free speech rights. He highlighted Khalid's four-year incarceration without trial commencement, arguing parity with co-accused granted bail and noting the chargesheet's 1,100 witnesses make a speedy conclusion improbable. The defence stressed Khalid's role was limited to protest coordination, not riot orchestration.
Delhi Police opposed bail, claiming Khalid's actions formed part of a "premeditated conspiracy" under UAPA sections for terrorist acts. The court reserved order on the plea after hearing both sides, with judgment expected soon.
Khalid, arrested in September 2020, has been denied bail multiple times by trial court and Delhi High Court, with the Supreme Court refusing urgent listing in 2024.
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