In the bail case of Delhi riots accused Umar Khalid, the Delhi High Court has issued notice to Delhi Police asking it to file a short reply in 3 days.
A division bench comprising Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar said prima facie the speech of Umar Khalid seems provocative.
The High Court will hear the matter on April 27.
During the hearing today, the Delhi High Court said that the speech made by Umar Khalid in Amravati prima facie appears to be objectionable and provocative based on which the case was registered by the police.
The court, while commenting on the speech of Umar Khalid, said that such provocative statements by referring to the freedom of expression cannot be made and it cannot be allowed in a democracy.
Apart from this, the High Court also asked Umar Khalid’s lawyer, “Do you not think this speech is inflammatory?”
The Court asked,
“Is it not wrong what Khalid said that your ancestors were brokering the British? Would Gandhi Ji and Shaheed Bhagat Singh have used such language?”
Khalid approached the High Court against a Delhi court’s order rejecting his bail application in the case registered against him in connection with the riots that took place during February 2020 in the capital’s north-east.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat of Karkardooma Court had passed this order on March 24.
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Khalid was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for his alleged involvement in the Delhi riots, which led to the death of 53 people and injuries to more than 700.
The Delhi Police had arrested Khalid in this case on September 13, 2020 and chargesheeted him on November 22 the same year under various sections of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code.