Omar Khalid did not get bail even from the special court, do you know what the judge said in his order?
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) alumnus Umar Khalid was shocked on Tuesday. A special court in Delhi rejected his bail plea. Accused in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots major conspiracy case. The court says the earlier order dismissing Khalid's first petition has been finalised. This is Khalid's second regular bail plea. A case has been registered against him under the Serious Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Dismissing Umar Khalid's plea, Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai said, 'When the Delhi High Court has already dismissed Khalid's criminal appeal by order dated October 18, 2022, after that he approaches the Supreme Court and withdraws your plea, the order is passed. This court is final on March 24, 2022. Now this Court cannot in any way examine the facts of the case at the discretion of Khalid. At the same time, the relief sought by Khalid cannot be considered. After considering the arguments of special public prosecutor Amit Prasad, the court said there was no delay on the part of the Delhi Police in framing the charges and starting the investigation. Therefore, there is no delay on the part of the prosecution but actually on the part of the accused, the applicant (Khalid) cannot take advantage of it. The court also rejected Khalid's defense counsel's contention that there was a “prime case” against the accused due to the bail granted in April to activist Vernon Gonsalves and academic-activist Shoma Gandhi Sen in July 2023 in connection with Elgar Parishad-Maoist links. 5 This year the Supreme Court's view of “visual evidence” has changed. Does Sharing WhatsApp Messages Spread Terrorism? According to Vernon's case cited by Khalid's counsel, while considering bail, the facts of the case cannot be delved into, the verifiable value of the evidence has to be analyzed only superficially, which is what the High Court did. While considering the applicant's plea for grant of bail, a cursory analysis of the verifiable value of the evidence was conducted and thereafter, it came to the conclusion that a prima facie case was made out against the applicant. Arguing against Khalid's bail, Amit Prasad said his WhatsApp chats revealed that he was in the habit of fabricating social media stories to influence the bail hearing. Rejecting the plea, Khalid's lawyer had asked the court whether sharing WhatsApp messages was a crime or an act of terrorism. Fifty-three people were killed in the violence in Delhi, and twenty others, including Sharjeel Imam, Khalid Saifi and former Aam Aadmi Party councilor Tahir Hussain, were accused of being involved in a larger conspiracy to incite riots in the national capital. 53 people were killed and more than 700 injured in these riots. Violence erupted during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). The case is being investigated by the Special Branch of the Delhi Police.