Delhi anti-Hindu riots: Umar Khalid’s name there in conspiracy from start to end says HC

New Delhi, Oct 19: The name of Umar Khalid finds a recurring mention from the beginning of the conspiracy till the culmination of the ensuing riots, a Special Bench comprising Justices Sidharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar said while rejecting his bail plea.

The Bench also took note of the fact that Khalid was a member of the WhatsApp group of Muslims students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). On Tuesday the Delhi High Court dismissed the bail plea filed by Umar Khalid accused in a larger conspiracy case related toi the Northeast Delhi riots that took place in February 2020. We do not find any merit in the appeal, the petition is dismissed the HC said.

"On the in-depth and considered perusal of the charge sheet, the accompanying documents and in view of the discussions herein above, only for the limited purpose of the present bail; this court expresses the inescapable conclusion that allegations against the Appellant are "prima facie true" and hence, the embargo created by Section 43D(5) of UAPA applies squarely with regard to the consideration of the grant of bail to the Appellant. Thus, the Appellant"s application seeking regular bail is rejected," the Bench observed.

As a natural and consequential corollary to the observations as mentioned herein above, the imagined order of the learned sessions judge dated March 24 2022, does not warrant any interference by this court and is sustained. As a sequel thereto, the appeal is dismissed, the Bench said.

He participated in various meetings at Jantar Mantar, Jangpura Office, Shaheen Bagh, Seelampur, Jafrabad and Indian Social Institute on various dates. He was a member of the DPSG group. He referred to the visit of the president of the USA to India in his Amrawati Speech, the court further observed.

The court also said that the CDR analysis depicts that there had been a flurry of calls that happened post the riots amongst the appellant and other co-accuserd. The cumulative statement of the protected witnesses indicates the presence and active involvement of the appellant in the protests, engineered against CAA/NRC.

Admittedly these protests metamorphosed into violent riots in February 2020, which began by firstly choking public roads, then violently and designedly attacking policemen and random members of the public, whereat firearms, acid bottles, stones etc. were used, resulting in the admitted and sad loss of 53 precious lives and the destruction of property worth several Crores. These protests & riots prima-facie seem to be orchestrated at the conspiratorial meetings held from December 2019 till February 2020, the court also said.

"Learned Sessions Judge has fairly recorded that there are some inconsistencies in the statements of some protected witnesses; however, as rightly held by the court below a finding has to be given on a cumulative reading of statements of all the witnesses and other events presented in the charge-sheet," the court held.

"Pertinently, this court cannot turn its blind eye to other incriminating materials against the appellant in the present case. The fact that there is no denying that on February 17, 2020, the appellant delivered a speech at Amrawati, Maharashtra referring to the visit of Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, which according to the prosecution heralded the riots in North-East Delhi," the Bench noted.

"Further, the CCTV footage filed along with the charge sheet, its analysis and the flurry of calls amongst the appellant and other co-accused after the riots of February 24, 2020, also merits consideration in the background of various meetings, statements of various protected witnesses and the WhatsApp chats filed in the charge sheet," the court said in its 52 page order.