Delhi riots FIR a sham, says Umar Khalid

Umar Khalid on Thursday told a Delhi Court that he has spent five years in jail in what he called a “joke of an FIR” filed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.

Senior advocate Trideep Pais, appearing for Khalid before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai at Karkardooma Court, argued that FIR 59 of 2020, probed by the Delhi Police Special Cell, was an unnecessary exercise since the deaths and violence during the North-East Delhi riots are already covered in separate FIRs.  He said the so-called “larger conspiracy” case lacked legal sanctity and was built on weak foundations.

Pais told the court that if there were a genuine conspiracy, it would have been reflected across the multiple riots cases registered in 2020. “Neither in general nor in specific terms is there any linkage to Khalid or others like him, not even through witness statements,” he submitted.

Highlighting past judicial orders in related riots cases, Pais said several accused had been discharged after courts flagged biased investigation. He accused the Delhi Police of reverse engineering the case. 

“First, a person is chosen to be implicated, and then documents are manufactured to reach that end,” he argued, describing it as evidence of targeting rather than investigation.

The defence also dismissed the first supplementary chargesheet filed in November 2020 as baseless. According to Pais, the document relies on “embellishments” unsupported by witness testimony or recoveries.

On the prosecution’s claim that Khalid was a “veteran of sedition” who had used anti-India slogans in 2016, Pais pointed out that the Delhi Police’s own chargesheet in the JNU case had recorded that Khalid had not uttered the alleged words. 

“The same agency that cleared him in 2016 is now attributing false statements to him in this case,” he said.

Khalid, arrested on September 13, 2020, has already spent five years in custody. Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court denied him bail, a decision he has since challenged in the Supreme Court. The trial court will continue hearing arguments on framing of charges on September 17.