A Delhi Court, on March 14, deferred passing orders on the bail plea moved by Jawaharlal Nehru University's student activist Umar Khalid in connection with a case alleging larger conspiracy into the 2020 Delhi riots, Livelaw reported.
Among other things, Khalid has been charged with sections under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat will now pronounce the order on March 21.
The order was reserved earlier this month after hearing Senior Advocate Trideep Pais appearing for Khalid and Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad appearing for the prosecution.
According to media reports, Senior Advocate Trideep Pais had earlier argued that the entire chargesheet filed by Delhi Police is a fabrication and that the case against him is based on video clips run by Republic TV and News18 showing a truncated version of the speech he delivered in February last year in Maharashtra.
"Delhi police has nothing but Republic TV and CNN-News18 for the case," the lawyer had said. He had alleged that News18 omitted a crucial statement made by Khalid regarding the need for unity and harmony from the video telecasted by it.
The hyperbolic allegations in the chargesheet "reads like a 9 PM news script of one of those shouting news channels" and are reflective of the "fertile imagination" of the investigating officer, the lawyer had argued.
He had also submitted that while the prosecution pushed on claiming that chakka jam was equal to terror act, chakka jam is not an offence and that it has been used by students and others while participating in various agitations.
While arguing the case, Pais had also made references to a popular series The Family Man and a film titled The Trial of Chicago 7. He had said that the chargesheet against Khalid reads like the show script while the situation that he is in resembles that of the characters in the film.
"I recently watched a movie called The Trial of Chicago 7 where witnesses of the state had already planned to be the witnesses of the state," Pais had argued. On the other hand, the prosecution had said that Khalid wanted to create a certain perception about him by referring to such films and series.
Opposing Umar Khalid's bail, Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad had argued, "…he wants the application to be decided by a reference to a web series. He wants the case to be equated as The Family Man and The Trial of Chicago 7. It's slightly unfortunate. Let us understand why he wants to equate with Family Man or Chicago 7. Because when you have nothing on merits, you want to go and create headlines."
