The Delhi High Court has fixed hearing on the bail plea of former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) accused Umar Khalid for 19 May. This is in connection with the Delhi riots 'larger conspiracy' case filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and registered under FIR 59.
The matter had originally been listed for hearing on Friday, 6 May, but was listed for 19 May by the court after Khalid’s lawyer Trideep Pais said that he will require at least two hours to finish his submissions.
Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court also fixed Khalid’s co-accused Sharjeel Imam’s bail plea in the ‘larger conspiracy’ case for hearing on 24 May.
Imam also has an ongoing sedition case against him, the hearing for which commenced on Friday, but the matter was subsequently listed for 1 May. The court said this is in order to enable Imam’s counsel Advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir to place relevant documents on record.
Both Khalid and Imam’s cases are being heard by a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar.
On the suggestion of the prosecutor to clump Khalid’s application with Imam’s as well as “an application which may be listed on Monday” in the conspiracy case, Pais, however, said that he didn’t want Khalid’s plea to be lumped with others.
“My role is distinct and non existent,” Pais said, for Khalid.
Background
Previously, on 22 April, the Delhi High Court had verbally remarked that activist Umar Khalid's 2020 speech at Amravati, which finds a mention in the First Information Report (FIR) filed against him in the North East Delhi riots case, is prima facie 'not acceptable.'
The court added that the speech was offensive, obnoxious, and hateful, media reports said.
Hearing relevant portions of his speech in the court, the bench remarked,
"This is offensive, obnoxious. Don’t you think? You say things like aapke purvaj angrezun ki dalali kar rahe the, you don’t think it is offensive? It is almost as if we distinctly get the impression that it was only one particular community that fought for India's independence."
Appearing for Khalid, Pais reportedly submitted that the speech only reflected the opinion of a single man and there was "absolutely no incitement" due to Khalid's statements.
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