No bail for former JNU Student Umar Khalid for his alleged role in the NE Delhi riots
Lodged in Jail since September 2020 under the controversial anti-terror UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act), Umar Khalid has once again been denied bail by the Delhi High Court. The Additional sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat pronounced the order after the verdict was deferred several times earlier this month. The Karkardooma court had reserved the order on March 3. Subsequently, the order was to be pronounced on March 14, but got deferred for non-filing of written arguments by the lawyer of Umar Khalid. Then the matter was deferred till March 23, following the submission of additional notes by the Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, who contested that there are multiple chats and other evidence against Umar Khalid.
The former JNU student faces several charges, and has been accused for being one of the “masterminds” behind the North-East Delhi riots of February 2020 which had left 53 dead, and over 700 injured. A total of 18 people were named as accused in the Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, out of which only 6 have received bail so far. Senior Advocate Trideep Pais, appearing for Umar Khalid, had argued that the entire charge sheet filed by Delhi Police in the case is a fabrication, and that the case against him is based on the video clips run by two TV channels showing a truncated version of his speech.
What are your views about the issue? What do you think about the UAPA?