2020 Delhi riots: Being on WhatsApp groups doesn’t indicate criminality, says Khalid’s counsel

Activist Umar Khalid’s counsel argued before the Delhi High Court on Thursday that merely being a part of WhatsApp groups should not be used to assign criminality to him.

The defense also accused the police of equating protests and meetings with terrorism while arguing for bail in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case linked to the February 2020 Delhi riots.

Senior advocate Trideep Pais, representing Khalid, made his submissions before a Bench comprising Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur. The court is set to hear the bail pleas of other co-accused, including Sharjeel Imam, on March 4.

Countering the prosecution’s claim that Khalid created “communal” WhatsApp groups to mobilise and instigate students for a “disruptive” chakka jam (blockades), Pais stated that he was not even an active participant in those groups.

“I have been added to the groups. I have not posted a single message. I am not even chatting. I have been roped in by somebody. Merely being in a group is not an indicator of any criminal wrong,” he argued.

Pais further contended that UAPA charges against Khalid were unfounded. “They are equating protest and attending a meeting to terror,” he said. He also referred to co-accused Devangana Kalita and others who, despite facing more serious allegations, were granted bail.

Additionally, Pais said no incriminating material was recovered from Khalid. “His speeches contain nothing criminal, and the witness statements against him are based on hearsay,” he argued.

“There are 800 witnesses, and the case has been pending for five years. Charges are yet to be framed. We can quibble over who is at fault but while others did not wish to go on with their arguments on charge, I wanted to. The prosecution itself moved the high court and obtained a stay for six months stating that they were unwilling to give hard copies of documents,” he said.

Khalid, who was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2020, has been challenging the trial court’s decision to deny him bail for the second time. He is among several individuals booked in connection with the February 2020 riots, which resulted in 53 deaths and over 700 injuries.

While the police had claimed that statements from several protected witnesses showed that the accused were not “innocent bystanders” merely setting up protest sites but had allegedly used WhatsApp groups to orchestrate violence.