No evidence linking me to 2020 Delhi riots violence: Umar Khalid to SC
New Delhi (PTI): Seeking bail in the UAPA case linked to February 2020 riots in Delhi, activist Umar Khalid on Friday told the Supreme Court that there is no evidence linking him to violence and denied conspiracy charges against him.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Khalid, told a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria that there has been no recovery of funds, weapons or any material evidence linking him to the 2020 Delhi riots.
"There are 751 FIRs, I am charged in one, and if it's a conspiracy, it's a bit surprising!
"If I (Umar Khalid) conspired riots. On dates in which riots took place, I was not in Delhi," Sibal said and added that no funds, weapons and physical evidence connecting me to violence have been found yet.
"No witness statement actually connects petitioner to any act of violence," he pointed out.
Sibal submitted that Khalid is entitled to bail on grounds of parity, noting that fellow activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha were granted bail in June 2021.
Sibal said that the Delhi High Court, while denying bail, had termed Umar Khalid's speech at Amravati on February 17, 2020, as "inflammatory."
"It is available on YouTube. It was a public speech where I (Khalid) spoke about Gandhian principles," Sibal added.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for Gulfisha Fatima, argued that she has been in jail for five years and five months since April 2020.
Singhvi pointed out that while the main chargesheet was filed on September 16, 2020, the prosecution has made it an "annual ritual" to file supplementary chargesheets every year.
He submitted that there has been an inordinate delay in the consideration of the bail plea of Fatima, which has been listed over 90 times since 2020.
Singhvi stated that the allegation against his client is merely that she created a WhatsApp group to coordinate or mobilise support.
"But the real test in law, as laid down by the Supreme Court, is whether there was any intent to incite violence or create disharmony," he said.
Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Sharjeel Imam, submitted that the police took three years to complete its investigation.
"Out of the five years I have spent in custody, three went by because the probe was still ongoing.
"The speeches were delivered by me (Imam) nearly two months before the riots," Dave said and argued that there is no direct or proximate link to suggest that he could have incited the violence.
The hearing remained inconclusive and will continue on November 3.
The Delhi Police on Thursday opposed the bail pleas of activists, saying that they conspired to strike at the sovereignty and integrity of the country by a "regime change operation" executed under the guise of "peaceful protest".
Khalid, Imam, Gulfisha Fatima and Meeran Haider were booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the erstwhile IPC for allegedly being the "masterminds" of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured.
The violence erupted during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
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Women's reservation must be implemented without being made contingent on delimitation: CM
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday said that the Women's Reservation Bill is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation.
Terming the delimitation as the political re-engineering at the cost of southern states, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said that these states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism.
The leaders' statements came a day before the Constitutional Amendment Bill with provisions on women's reservation implementation and delimitation was tabled in the Lok Sabha.
"You are right in highlighting the larger implications of the proposed delimitation approach and the concerns it raises for southern states. We wholeheartedly support the Women's Reservation Bill - it is a long-overdue reform that must be implemented immediately within the existing framework, without being made contingent on delimitation," Siddaramaiah said in a post on 'X'.
He was replying to his Telangana counterpart A Revanth Reddy's post on 'X' with a letter, urging the former to unitedly resist moves to push a pro rata model to increase Lok Sabha seats, which would be highly detrimental and inimical to the interests of southern states.
"Any exercise that reshapes political representation must be undertaken with utmost care. The Union Government must engage all states in a transparent and consultative process, and ensure that fairness, federal balance, and consensus guide this critical decision," Siddaramaiah added.
Shivakumar said that this is not a delimitation, but political re-engineering "at the cost of southern states".
"The proposal to increase Lok Sabha seats from 543 to 850 will systematically reduce the voice of the South, while rewarding unchecked population growth elsewhere. This is nothing but punishing progress and good governance," he posted on 'X'.
Clarifying that Congress fully supports women's reservation and in fact, it was party's top leader Sonia Gandhi's vision and commitment that brought this dream to the national agenda, the Deputy CM said, "We demand that it be implemented without linking it to delimitation or seat expansion."
"I urge the Union Govt to not hide behind women's empowerment to push a deely unfair political agenda. Rushing such a massive restructuring of India's democracy during elections, without transparency or consultation, is deeply suspicious and unacceptable," he said.
Asserting that India's strength lies in balance not domination, and in fairness, not manipulation, Shivakumar said, "The Southern states will stand united, speak in one voice, and defend the true spirit of federalism."
"We will not allow the South to be politically marginalised."
