Delhi High Court to hear Umar Khalid's appeal challenging lower court's order refusing bail
Apr 21, 2022
New Delhi [India], April 21 : Umar Khalid, an accused in Northeast Delhi violence larger conspiracy case, has moved Delhi High Court challenging the lower court order denying bail to him. The High Court will hear the appeal on Friday.
A Delhi Court had dismissed the bail plea of Umar Khalid on March 24, 2022. The appeal moved by the former JNU student leader is listed before the division bench headed by Justice Siddhartha Mridul.
Umar Khalid is an accused in northeast Delhi Violence larger conspiracy case. He was arrested on 13 September 2020 under Sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat had dismissed the bail plea saying there reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the Umar Khalid are prima facie true, hence, the embargo created by Section 43D of UAPA applies for a grant of bail to the accused and also, the embargo contained in Section 437 Cr. P. C.
The Court in its order had observed, "It is also important to highlight that in a conspiracy, various continuous acts are committed by different accused persons. One act cannot be read in isolation. At times, if read by itself, a particular act on an activity may appear innocuous, but if it is a part of a chain of events constituting a conspiracy, then all the events must be read together.
The Court had also observed that the accused was part of such WhatsApp groups created for specific objects and his acts or presence throughout the period beginning from the passing of the CAB Bill in December 2019 till the February 2020 riots, has to be read in totality and not piecemeal. He has connectivity with many accused persons.
The Court had rejected the contention of defence counsel that the accused was not present in Delhi during the time of the riots. In this regard, the Court said that in a case of conspiracy, it is not necessary that every accused should be present on the spot.
Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Amit Prasad had opposed the bail. He had argued that the Delhi riots were a large scale and deep-rooted conspiracy hatched after the passing of the resolution by the Cabinet Committee to present CAB in both houses of Parliaments on 4 December 2019.
SPP had also argued that in this entire conspiracy, there were various organisations like Pinjra Tod, AAZMI, SIO, SFI, etc. through individuals which participated. There was the centrality of JCC in the eco-system.
Amit Prasad had argued Umar Khalid participated in the conspiracy. He had also argued that the case under sections is made out against the accused persons. There is sufficient material on record to establish that the accusation against the accused Umar Khalid is prima facie true and hence bail application of the accused may be dismissed.
This case pertains to large scale violence in Northeast Delhi in which 53 people had lost their lives and hundreds were injured.
Delhi police had lodged the larger conspiracy case naming Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and Gulfisha Fatima among others.
