Order on bail of Umar Khalid in Delhi riots case now on March 21

The decision on the bail plea of ​​former JNU student Umar Khalid will now come a week later on March 21. Delhi's Karkardooma Court on Monday deferred its order for a week.

On March 3, Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) of Karkardooma Court Amitabh Rawat had reserved his decision.

Umar Khalid is accused of criminal conspiracy in connection with the Delhi riots during February 2020.

During the arguments in Karkardooma Court, on behalf of Umar Khalid, it was said in the court that the prosecution lacked evidence to prove its case against him.

Khalid's lawyer, Senior Advocate Tridip Paes had told ASJ Rawat, "In this case (February 2020 Delhi riots case) the prosecution lacked evidence to prove its case against Khalid."

Claiming the innocence of Umar Khalid in the 2020 Delhi riots case, Tridip Paes further said that most of the allegations had no legal basis. He asked the prosecution what was the evidence against his client? He also said that the allegations made by the prosecution against Umar Khalid are completely fictitious and there is no evidence for the allegations.

Paes told ASJ Rawat, "It's just a figment of the prosecution's imagination. You first want to make up a story and then you want to create evidence to complete that story."

Paes says that the charge sheet filed by the prosecution for conspiracy in the 2020 Delhi riots case has made allegations against Khalid without any basis.

"The intention was to bring the government to its knees"

While opposing these arguments, Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad demanded from the ASJ that the court should dismiss the bail plea of ​​Umar Khalid.

During the debate, Prasad said in court, "The ultimate aim was to overthrow the government, to undermine the authority of the Parliament, which has implemented the Citizenship Amendment Act and NRC. At the same time, the aim was to destabilize the foundation of democracy." "

"The intention was to bring the government to its knees so that the CAA has to be withdrawn. This is clear from the chats in which it has been clearly said that the government will have to be brought to its knees."

Delhi riots and arrests

In the Delhi riots case, Umar Khalid was arrested by the Delhi Police under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) along with several other accused.

A case has also been registered against Khalid under several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 124-A (sedition), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating), and 465 (forgery). The Delhi Police claims to have found several "critical pieces of evidence".

According to the prosecution, the Delhi riots in February 2020, which shook the entire country, were carried out as part of a premeditated conspiracy to break the social fabric and tarnish the image of India. These riots broke out in Delhi amid the ongoing protests against CAA and NRC.

Delhi Police, in its supplementary charge sheet, had claimed that former JNU student Umar Khalid had instigated people by giving a speech at an anti-CAA rally in Maharashtra's Amravati.

Khalid was granted bail in April in another case, but Khalid is booked under UAPA on charges of criminal conspiracy, so he remained in Tihar Jail.

Riots broke out in February 2020

In February 2020, 53 people were killed, around 700 people were injured in the riots in North-East Delhi. There are also reports of many people missing. During this, there was also a loss of properties worth crores of rupees.

Cases were registered against many under different sections of the IPC.

The accused named in the charge sheet in the Delhi riots case are Tahir Hussain, Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Mohammad Parvez Ahmed, Mohammad Ilyas, Saifi Khalid, Ishrat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Safoora Zargar, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita, Tasleem Ahmed, Salim Malik, Mohammad Salim Khan, Athar Khan and others to name a few.

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