Delhi HC adjourns Umar Khalid's bail hearing for Friday
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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court adjourned the hearing on the bail plea by JNU researcher-activist Umar Khalid for Friday and said that his new documents explaining his alleged 'offensive speech' have not come on record, IANS reported.
Khalid moved to the High Cout after his bail plea was rejected by the trial court on a case of larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
It is alleged that he delivered offensive speeches in Amaravati during the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) protests, and allegations against him in the riot case are based on these speeches.
On Thursday, Khalid submitted the materials and case laws detailing the meaning of 'krantikari' and 'inquilab', which he had allegedly used in his speeches.
On Wednesday, the HC division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar had asked Khalid whether it was proper to use the word 'Jumla" against the Prime Minister. But Khalid's counsel replied that it is not illegal to criticise the policies of the government.
On April 22, the bench had called Khalid's speech offensive and obnoxious. The court asked whether Gandhiji or Shaheed Bhagat Singh had employed such language, adding, "We have no qualms about permitting free speech, but what are you saying?"
Denying bail to Khalid, Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat ruled on March 24 that the argument that he is a researcher and his bend can be assessed from his doctoral thesis on welfare aspects of tribals of Jharkhand along with his other writings cannot be considered while deciding his bail.
Umar Khalid, one of the accused in the conspiracy case, has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The 2020 Delhi riots became violent after clashes occurred among anti-CAA and pro-CAA factions. The incident took 50 lives and injured more than 700.
