Delhi Police told a court in the city today that former JNU student Umar Khalid’s bail application in the case of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against him in connection with the Delhi riots does not have any merit.
Following the submission of Delhi Police, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat adjourned the hearing in Khalid’s bail application until 7 August on the request of his lawyer, Trideep Pais, who received the prosecution’s reply only this morning.
Earlier, while replying to Khalid’s bail plea, Additional DCP Alok Kumar (Special Cell), had told ASJ Rawat that further investigation in the case was underway.
“The application filed by the applicant has no merits as would be revealed and demonstrated before this court by reference to the charge sheet filed before this court and as such the prosecution does not seek to file a detailed reply to the present application. The prosecution would demonstrate the prima facie case against the applicant by reference to and relying (sic) upon the charge sheet filed before this court,” the Additional DCP’s reply read.
Delhi Police in their reply stated further that three special leave petitions had been filed before the Supreme Court and so far they are not decided, the high court judgment cannot be relied upon by any of the parties.
The Delhi High Court had recently granted bail to three student activists, Natasha Narwal, Devagana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha, who are also accused under UAPA.
Delhi Police after rabble-rousers
Delhi Police has, in its supplementary charge sheet filed in the Delhi riots case, alleged that Khalid “begrudgingly accepted the idea of India in 2016, with a plan to break up India in 2020 where all relations were based on the concept of (the) ummah, with total decimation of secular, national identities”.
The special cell of Delhi Police arrested Umar Khalid on 13 September 2020 for allegedly instigating riots in the capital city. The police invoked charges under the anti-terror law UAPA against several accused.
Delhi Police submitted that the present case pertained to a larger conspiracy that was registered on 6 March 2020. In total, the cops arrested 21 suspects in the case to date, out of which it is still preparing charge sheets against 18 accused under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
Besides Umar Khalid, students Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita from JNU, Jamia Coordination Committee members Safoora Zargar, Jamia’s Asif Iqbal Tanha, former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain, and several others, have also been booked under the UAPA.
The Delhi High Court in its recent judgement had granted bail to Asif, Devangna and Natasha Narwal in the same case. Delhi HC had given very strong observations against prosecution in the matter. Later Delhi Police had moved the Supreme Court challenging that order.
More than 750 cases were registered over the northeast Delhi violence, in which at least 53 people were killed and several others were injured. So far, over 250 charge sheets have been filed in the riots related cases in which many accused have been charge-sheeted.
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