Umar Khalid, a student activist, argued for bail before the Delhi High Court on the grounds of delay in trial and parity, along with other co-accused in the larger conspiracy case of the Northeast Delhi riots. He claimed that he has “completed” or undergone more than “half” of the sentencing period in the 34 charges against him.
At that exact time, his accuser, Meeran Haider, urged a divisional panel of justices Navin Kohli and Shalinder Punjab that the state had “conflated protests to riot and then … conflate organizing (organizing) to protests” in the case. Khalid and Haider have been in jail for more than four years.
Senior advocate Trideep Pais, representing Khalid, argued that the “allegations are based on hearsay” and that he is not “part of any recovery, any violence,” citing the bail granted to activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana (Kalita), who are also accused in the larger conspiracy case.
“Natasha and Devangana take part in purported “secret meetings” and are out on bail,” Pais stated, disputing the nature of the alleged “secret meetings.” He emphasized that none of the witnesses described the meetings as secret, and images from the events were also shared on Facebook.
There are no reports of violence as a direct result of the conference. “I’m not a part of any FIR in that area either,” Pais added, noting that Khalid’s only overt act was a speech he gave in Amravati, Maharashtra. “I was thousands of miles from Delhi.
Pais questioned the justification for selectively arraigning the accused in the case of a bigger conspiracy related to the riots, stating, “While many attended meetings…what is the reason of making us accused and not them (others who attended such meetings)?