Umar Khalid’s counsel says charges based only on statements, no evidence
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New Delhi: The counsel for former JNU student leader Umar Khalid told a Delhi court on Friday that the case against his client in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots was built entirely on statements, without any supporting physical evidence.
The arguments were presented before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai during the hearing on whether charges should be framed against Khalid.
Senior advocate Trideep Pais, representing Khalid, argued that the prosecution had no material proof to support its allegations. “If you have statements only, where will the case go? It will remain in the manner in which it has been in the last five years. Will we take Alpha, Beta, and Gamma (names of three protected witnesses) and examine them?” he asked.
Pais said there had been no recovery or seizure connecting his client to the alleged conspiracy. “There are 751 FIRs (in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots). I am not an accused in any, except one (the larger conspiracy case),” he told the court.
Referring to a witness statement, Pais said Khalid was accused of attending a meeting in Jangpura on December 8, 2019, where the alleged conspiracy was discussed. “The meeting happened in Jangpura. Only two people are named as accused, and others who attended the meeting are not named? If you say that this meeting was the main conspiracy meeting, why did it take you so long to take statements?” he questioned.
He further pointed out that statements were recorded nearly six months after the FIR was filed and almost 11 months after the meeting. ““I am not saying that you cannot register an FIR if you have evidence. But you have named me and called it a conspiracy. You have recorded statements almost six months after the FIR and 11 months after the December meeting,” he said.
Pais also told the court that Khalid had sent only three messages in the Delhi Protest Support Group (DPSG) WhatsApp group, which the prosecution claimed was central to the alleged conspiracy.
The court will continue hearing the arguments on October 28 and 29.
Last month, Pais had told the court that Khalid had spent five years in custody over what he called a “joke of an FIR”, lacking the “sanctity of law”.
Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020, in connection with the case.
Twenty people, including activists Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi, and former Aam Aadmi Party councillor Tahir Hussain, have been charged with allegedly being part of the larger conspiracy to incite the 2020 Delhi riots.