Those facing graver allegations granted bail, says Umar Khalid
Umar Khalid, who was arrested under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for his alleged involvement in Delhi Riots of 2020, has argued that many with more serious allegation were granted bail and some, with similar alleged offences, were not even booked by Delhi Police, a report in The Indian Express stated on Thursday.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal who represented him in the Supreme Court advised him to withdraw his plea in February citing ‘change in circumstances’ and his request for bail was moved to a trial court. His lawyer, advocate Trideep Pais, who appeared before Delhi’s Karkardooma Court on March 21 stated that “The factual basis on which three accused in the case have been granted bail have several overlaps with me”. He requested the court to consider Khalid’s entitlement to a bail of parity as UAPA was interpreted differently by a Supreme Court judgment in 2023, the newspaper reported.
“The court must be satisfied with the probative value of evidence at the stage of examining bail,” said Pais. He also brought it to the notice of court that no terrorist act was used to book his client. The continued incarceration of the accused was cited as another change of circumstances by the advocate. He also stated that there were no witnesses in many of the 15 instances cited by the prosecution to show the involvement of Umar Khalid. Out of the four allegedly conspiring WhatsApp groups mentioned by the prosecution, Khalid wasn’t part of two groups. Pais stated that many other members of these groups weren’t even booked by the police.
“In one group, Khalid didn’t even send a single message. In the fourth WhatsApp group which Khalid was a part of, he sent only five messages – three of which were Google Maps locations,” the Indian Express quoted Pais stating. Khalid’s advocate made a reference to his sharing a message from police requesting to stop the protest. “The two accused who were in Northeast Delhi during the riots are on bail. They’re in the same group as [Umar Khalid]… they’re far more involved in the group… a witness also made a direct allegation of rioting against these two,” said Pais. He questioned the decision of prosecution accusing only 2 out of 7 people who attended an alleged meeting to plan for riots while arguing that participation in a meeting whose contents were unknown to the prosecution was not illegal.
The advocate for Khalid also brought out the disparity between a witness’ statement in court and the charge sheet while stating that co-accused Asif Iqbal Tanha was granted bail by Delhi high court notwithstanding the same witness’ allegations which were far more serious. Pais also made a reference to lack of CCTV footage from Shaheen Bagh to back up the accusations made by the prosecution. He proved to the court that during other alleged conspiracy meetings, the Call Detail Records (CDR) of the other co-accused didn’t match with that of Khalid. The claim of prosecution that the accused gathered on January 8 to disrupt the then US President Donald Trump’s visit to Delhi was absurd as the event was not disclosed by the Indian Government till January 13, Pais argued.
The other co-accused in the case are Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, Asif Iqbal Tanha, former AAP councilor Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, ex-Congress councilor Ishrat Jahan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohammed Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, and Faizal Khan.
Out of the 17 booked in the case, only Tanha, Narwal and Kalita are out on bail. The remaining 14 have been in jail for the last four years.
The case, usually referred to as 2020 Northeast Delhi riots ‘larger conspiracy case’, has been in news recently for the courts reprimanding the Delhi Police for its flawed investigation into the riots.
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Flagrant injustice to underprivileged: Mehbooba on govt action against Shopian school
Srinagar (PTI): PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Monday said declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian an unlawful entity under the UAPA was a "flagrant injustice" to the underprivileged sections of society.
She also alleged that banning such "altruistic institutions" without any solid evidence of anti-national activity "shows a deep seated prejudice and ill intention".
The institution allegedly run by individuals affiliated with a banned organisation has been declared an "unlawful entity" under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
In a post on X, Mehbooba said, "Every single day the j&k government acts as a mute bystander & a timid enabler of vicious assaults on J&Ks identity & dignity. Declaring Dar Ul Uloom Jamia Siraj Ul Uloom as an unlawful entity under UAPA is a flagrant injustice to the poor underprivileged sections of society".
The former chief minister said the institution served as a "beacon of quality education" for students unable to afford expensive schooling.
"It has produced reputed doctors and professionals who served this nation with dedication. Banning these altruistic institutions without any solid evidence of anti national activity shows a deep seated prejudice & ill intention," she added.
Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Anshul Garg issued a two-page order based on the dossier presented by Senior Superintendent of Police Shopian pointing towards the alleged illegal activities at Darul Uloom Jamia Sirajul Uloom at Imam Sahib in Shopian district in south Kashmir.
According to the order issued by Garg on April 24, there were "credible inputs and evidence on record, to indicate sustained and covert linkages of the institution with Jamaat-e-Islami, which the Government of India banned in 2019.
