NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Friday issued notice to the police on an appeal moved by Umar Khalid, the former student leader of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who challenged a trial court order that refused his bail application in a larger conspiracy case related to North East Delhi violence.
The Division Bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar sought a response from the investigation agency and listed the matter for April 27. Khalid is an accused in northeast Delhi violence larger conspiracy case. He was arrested on September 13, 2020, under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
The Court also heard the relevant portion of the speech of Khalid and asked, “Did Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Mahatma Gandhi ever use this language? We have no problem with permitting free speech but what are you saying? All this is offensive and obnoxious.”
Khalid’s counsel Advocate Trideep Pais submitted that the speech was given in Amravati and the trial court did not even give a finding that the speech was provocative. On March 24, the trial court dismissed Khalid’s bail plea. While dismissing the plea, the judge said that there were reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against Khalid is prima facie true.