The Beatles, Nehru, Robespierre, Kaifi Azmi invoked in Delhi High Court during hearing of Umar Khalid bail plea

While hearing Umar Khalid's bail appeal in the Delhi riots conspiracy case on Friday, Justice Siddharth Mridul of the Delhi High Court remarked that at its core, a revolution is violent and that is why the prefix 'bloodless' is used to refer to a peaceful revolution. .Senior Advocate Trideep Pais had quoted Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and played a podcast of historian Irfan Habib to argue that revolutions can be non-violent and it is not necessary for people to indulge in violence to bring a change. However, Justice Mridul said that it is one perspective. He referred to Maximilien Robespierre -- a leading figure it the French revolution of 1789 -- to state that revolutions have been violent as well. .Justice Mridul and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar are hearing Khalid's appeal against the trial court's order denying him bail in the Delhi Riots conspiracy case for which he has been charged criminal conspiracy, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other stringent sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). .As Pais read out the meaning of the words revolution, 'Inquilab', 'Isteqbal' and 'Krantikari' from a range of sources, Justice Mridul quipped that the only thing now missing from the proceedings is rock band The Beatles' 1968 song Revolution.The judge then quoted a couplet by poet Kaifi Azmi to respond to Pais' submission that there was no call to violence in Khalid's speech. Justice Mridul said that the call to revolution does not have to affect the people immediately present. "There is sher from Kaifi Azmi. He said, 'Rahen na rind ye Zahid ke bas ki baat nahin; tamam shahr hain do char dar ki baat nahin'." The couplet effectively means - It isn’t in a monk/religious devout’s power to keep away drunkards; whole city is such, it isn’t a matter of a few. .At the start of the hearing, Pais had informed the court that he has submitted documents to explain the meaning of the words as asked by judges in previous hearings. He said all of these explain the meaning of revolution in nuanced terms and show that it does not require a call to arms or violence. The documents included an article from The Hindu and a podcast by historian Irfan Habib. "What I am submitting is that people who thought of revolution do not have to resort to violence... Pandit Nehru had said that if legal and democratic politics is allowed then revolution in its traditional meaning becomes superfluous," he argued. Justice Mridul, however, said that the Court was not concerned with the meanings of these words in isolation but wanted to know what Khalid meant when he used them in the particular context of the speech and the protests that were going on. "We know what the 'Inquilab Zindabad means. Bhagat Singh used it and all of us are familiar with it. You did not use the word 'Inquilab Zindabad'. You used 'Inquilab' in conjunction with 'Krantikari'. We want to know what you meant by that.".Earlier, Justice Bhatnagar demanded that Khalid's Amravati speech should be played again in the court. After hearing the speech, the judge expressed his displeasure over the use of the phrase "Bharat me Modi Nanga si" by Khalid. "Donald trump ko ye na pata lag jaae.. What is he saying after this? He is making the statement against Prime Minister of India. Some other words could have been used against the PM of India. He could have stopped at Bharat me sab changa si. There could have been a purnviram (full stop) at changa si."Pais responded that he could have and a lot can be said in the hindsight but even then, it is sarcastic and satirical response to the phrase "Bharat me sab changa si" and it cannot be construes as an incitement to violence. Justice Bhatnagar asked Pais if Mahatma Gandhi ever used such language against his opponents? "Did Mahatma Gandhi use words like these in his speeches? He is saying he follows Mahatma Gandhi."Pais responded that there have been instances when a finance minister was called impotent and the incident was widely reported in the media. The judge then questioned if this was the part of democracy in the country and that these were the questions that came in their mind after hearing the speech. .The Court eventually asked Pais at the end to argue on the charges against him, the allegations of criminal conspiracy to instigate the riots and why it is a terrorist act. .Pais said that there are 17 allegations against him. He said that prosecution has alleged that Khalid was the mentor of another accused Sharjeel Imam who has been described as a religious fanatic.But, Pais continued, there is not a single document to show that Imam was protege of Khalid and it is only a fertile imagination of the person who prepared the chargesheet. "Apart from high flown words and hyperbole, there is nothing else," he said. .The Court then said that it will continue with the hearing on Monday next week. The Court also decided that it will sit daily at 2:15 pm to hear the matter. The judges said that they want to finish the matter before summer vacation which will start in the first week of June.