The Delhi High Court on Tuesday observed that the actions leading to the violent protests was “premeditated” in nature, while dismissing the bail plea of Umar Khalid in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy behind the anti-CAA protests and the subsequent Delhi riots in 2020.
The division bench comprising Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar ruled that they did not “find any merit” in Khalid’s bail application. In its order, the court observed, “The protest planned was not a typical protest normal in political culture or democracy but one far more destructive and injurious geared towards extremely grave consequences.”
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“As per the pre-meditated plan there was an intentional blocking of roads to cause inconvenience and disruption of the essential services to the life of community residing in North-East Delhi, creating thereby panic and an alarming sense of insecurity. The attack on police personnel by women protesters in front only followed by other ordinary people and engulfing the area into a riot is the epitome of such premediated plan and as such the same would prima facie be covered by the definition of ‘terrorist act’,” it added.
Khalid has been lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail ever since he was arrested by the Delhi Police on September 13, 2020 after he was charged under several sections of the stringent anti-terror law Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), The Arms Act, and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.
Arguing before the HC, Khalid’s counsel Trideep Pais said that his client was part of only two out of the five WhatsApp groups submitted in the Delhi Police’s chargesheet, pointing out that Khalid had only posted four messages in one group, reported IE. Pais further stated that Khalid had shared in his texts the protest site location and his conversation with a police official who wanted protests to be scaled down.
“No eyewitness or any witness speaks of his presence in any situation of violence in any part of Delhi during the protest against CAA. Not a single witness of alleged violence has spoken against him,” Pais told the court.
Pointing out at the 17 incidents cited in the chargesheet, Pais argued that there were no eye-witnesses to 8 incidents and all the incidents were not inter-connected except they talked about protesting against CAA and Chaka Jam, reported IE.
On the other hand, the Delhi Police said that Khalid is the ” ‘silent whisperer’ of the conspiracy” and to “escalate protest to chakka-jam, once critical mass is generated and at an appropriate time to eventually lead to violence against police and then others.”