Khalid questions UAPA charges, demands bail in Delhi riots case

Delhi riots accused Khalid Saifi on Tuesday questioned the Delhi High Court on whether “innocuous messages” could justify charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and be a reason to deny him bail.

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Senior advocate Rebecca John, representing Saifi before Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur submitted “Can UAPA charges be based on innocuous messages or mere interpretations of them? Can such claims justify denying me bail?"

The Bench was hearing bail petitions of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Saifi and several others booked under the UAPA and other IPC sections in the 2020 North East Delhi riots larger conspiracy case.

She argued that the Delhi Police while filing its submission relied on some allegedly incriminatory messages exchanged between Saifi and protesters on WhatsApp groups.

She also sought parity with the co-accused – Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha – who are out on bail in the case, and said a speedy trial was a constitutionally protected right which ought to be considered.

"Delay is a fact that can be considered by a constitutional court notwithstanding the provisions prohibiting bail.. When you have such an onerous provision, it is the duty of court to see whether protest against what was seen as an unfair law tantamounts to terrorist act," she said.

She added that Saifi was the organiser of a protest site in Khureji Khas, which was peaceful, and there was no recovery of any weapon or money or incriminatory protest material from him.