[BREAKING] "We find the speech obnoxious and inciteful:" Delhi High Court while issuing notice in Umar Khalid bail appeal

The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice in the appeal filed by Umar Khalid against a trial court order which denied him bail in an Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case registered against him in connection with the Delhi Riots of February 2020..The Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar observed that it found Khalid's speech delivered at Amravati, on the basis of which the case was filed against him, was "obnoxious and inciteful.".Appearing for Khalid, Senior Advocate Trideep Pais argued that his client was not even present in Delhi when the crime he is accused of took place. When the Court asked what charges were filed against him, the counsel replied that the charges were not yet framed."So what are you accused of?" asked the Bench.Pais replied,"There is just one speech. The police went to TV channels requesting for that speech. Channels tell them that they received it from a politician...special court didn't even give a finding that this speech is provocative.".Pais then took the Court through the speech delivered by Khalid. Mid-way through this exercise, the Bench asked,"These expressions being used, don't you think they incite people? You don't think "jab aapke purvaj angrezo ki dalali kar rahe the" (when your ancestors were slaves of the British) is offensive?It gives the impression that only one community was fighting against the British. Did Gandhiji ever employ such language? Did Bhagat Singh ever employ this? Is this what Gandhiji told us?"The Bench also asked whether the freedom of speech could extend to such statements and whether Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was attracted."We are not surprised that the FIR is premised on this part of the speech...Prima facie this is not acceptable. This is not acceptable in four corners of democracy and free speech." the Bench said.Pais then argued,"If this is obnoxious speech, so be it. That is not why I am here. I am here on allegations of terror.".The Bench went on to issue notice in the appeal against the order rejecting bail. Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad accepted notice on behalf of the prosecution. On Pais' request for the shortest date, the Bench said,"We will give you the shortest date, we don't want to keep it pending for long."The matter will be heard next on April 27..Khalid was denied bail by the Karkardooma Court on March 24. Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat found he was part of the WhatsApp groups created for specific objects. His acts or presence throughout the period beginning from the passing of the Citizenship Amendment Bill in December 2019 till the riots of February 2020 riots had to read in a piecemeal manner, the Court had held..Umar Khalid was part of WhatsApp groups on CAA protests, acts should be seen in totality: Why Delhi court refused bail .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 Karkardooma Court reserved its order in March.

[BREAKING] "We find the speech obnoxious and inciteful:" Delhi High Court while issuing notice in Umar Khalid bail appeal

Prashant Jha

Related Stories