[Delhi Riots] Allegations against Umar Khalid in UAPA case prime facie true: Delhi court bail order

A Delhi Court on Thursday said that allegations against Umar Khalid in the UAPA case connected to Delhi Riots are “prime facie” true and rejected his bail plea [Umar Khalid v. State]..In a 61-page bail order, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat said that there are grounds to believe that the allegations against Khalid are prima facie correct. "On the perusal of the chargesheet and accompanying documents, for the limited purpose of the bail, I am of the opinion that allegations against the accused Umar Khalid are prima facie true."The order added further, “In view of the above discussion, since there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the accused Umar Khalid are prima facie true, hence, embargo created by Section 43D of UAPA applies for grant of bail to the accused and also, the embargo contained in Section 437 CrPC,” the order said..Section 437 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) places an additional condition before releasing a person on bail if there are reasonable grounds for believing that accused has been guilty of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life.Similarly, Section 43D of the UAPA stipulates,“…such accused person shall not be released on bail or on his own bond if the Court, on a perusal of the case diary or the report made under section 173 of the Code is of the opinion that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against such person is prima facie true.”In addition, the Court dealt with the argument of Khalid’s lawyer and Senior Counsel Trideep Pais that he was not in Delhi when the violence took place in February, 2020.“In a case of a conspiracy, it is not necessary that every accused should be present at the spot," the Court said in response to the argument.The senior lawyer had also pointed out some inconsistencies in the statements of some protected witnesses. The Court, however, said that a finding has to be given on a cumulative reading of statements of all the witnesses and other events presented in the chargesheet..“It is also important to highlight that in a conspiracy, various continuous acts are committed by different accused persons. One act cannot be read in isolation. At times, if read by itself, a particular act or an activity may appear innocuous, but if it is a part of chain of events constituting a conspiracy, then all the events must be read together,” the order added.The defense counsel had also contended that Khalid was a researcher and his bent of mind could be assessed from his doctoral thesis on Welfare aspects of Adivasis of Jharkhand and other writings.Judge Rawat found it an irrelevant consideration while deciding the bail application.“If the bent of mind is to be assessed in this manner, then the co-accused Sharjeel Imam has written thesis on riots but any thesis or research work, by itself, done by any accused cannot be a ground for assessing mens rea or his bent of mind. A bail application must be decided on facts presented in chargesheet,” the order emphasised..The Court had reserved order in the case on March 3. The pronouncement of order was deferred on three occasions - March 14, 21 and 23 - before it was eventually pronounced today.Spanning over eight months, the bail hearings witnessed some interesting arguments by defence lawyer and Senior Counsel Pais, and Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad for the State.The prosecution had alleged that the Delhi Riots were part of a premeditated, deep-rooted conspiracy which was hatched by the accused persons.Referring to Khalid’s speech where he mentioned the visit of US President Donald Trump, the prosecutor argued that Khalid sought to create an environment that was aimed for the international media.Khalid was also stated to have chosen his words while using terms such as “Tiranga” (tricolour) and “Constitution,” only to avoid the rigmarole of being booked again. According to the prosecutor, he had been booked in 2016 and was careful this time..The Delhi Police had arrested Khalid in this case on September 13, 2020 and chargesheeted him on November 22 the same year under various sections of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code. Khalid moved a bail plea in July 2021, and several hearings later, the Court reserved its order earlier this month..[Read Order]