Delhi Court will today hear bail plea of JNU scholar Umar Khalid, accused in a conspiracy case related to #DelhiRiots, facing offences under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. 
SPP Amit Prasad seeks half an hour break as I have to argue in another matter.
Court posts the hearing at 12.45pm.
Hearing begins. Senior Advocate Trideep Paid representing Khalid.
Pais gives dates of FIR and arrest in the case. I am interrogated for the first time on July 30. Absolutely no delay. I traveled immediately via Guwahati and got subjected to interrogation.
Let us start with the FIR. That is where the journey for prosecution starts.
750 FIRs registered in connection with the violence. I am not named in a single FIR and arrested in one, which I am on bail. Fir 59 is an FIR, which is unnecessary. Drafted and filed to target people selectively based on their importance to opposition to CAA.
Pais argues
Pais: You went about fabricating. 750 FIR distinct violence. People go about investigating them. When each one those FIR registered there was an actual crime.
Pais: March 6, 2020 FIR had no such thing. It was an FIR framed in such a broad manner so that you get statements to frame people. All statements are such an after-thought. Some witness say something... It is all cooked up... Chargesheet is a complete fabrication.
Pais: Everything happens in April and beyond in this FIR. Statements are cooked up. They have no correlation to evidence. Everyone in this FIR shouldn't have been arrested. FIR should not have been registered at all.
FIR is shared; being read before court.
Pais refers to "sum and substance" of FIR. "That the manner in which protest against CAA carried out by having chakka-jams all over Delhi. Those chakka jams were result of 'bhadkau bhashan' and it was planned"
Pais refers to offences in the FIR 59: There is not an iota of doubt that the 750 FIR deal with these offences. It is an hollow FIR.
Pais: All your statements, evidence starts after the crime? On that day of the crime you had nothing.
Pais: This FIR will not test the test of trial. It is only to cherry pick people and keep them in custody because of the oppressive provisions of the UAPA. Not to ensure justice is done. It is hypocrisy. None of the people in 59 not held in custody.
Pais: UAPA is called Unlawful Activities "Prevention" Act. Where did you prevent it? And then you Act kicks in, after the so called unlawful activity. Why does it happen, because it does not have trust judiciary.
Pais: Distrust of judiciary is UAPA, POTA, PMLA. These enacted so that your hands are tied.
Sr Adv Trideep Pais: In a fair world this FIR should have not been registered in the first place. #FIR59 #DelhiRiots #UAPA #UmarKhalid
Pais now refers to a 'comparative chart of bail provisions under various offences'.
Pais now reads 43(D) UAPA on the bail provision.
Pais: You honour has been given the solemn duty to peruse the case diary and come to conclusion that accusation is prima facie true. However, the burden is not on me but on prosecution to show that there is a prima case.
Pais: FIR shows statement that a video is seen on YouTube by Republic World allegedly at Amravati Maharashtra. "Aapne nahi dekha. Nothing follows as a result of February 17. Later Republic .."
Pais: Speech is on February 17, nothing till March 6. On March 6 when they registered FIR, they had no other info. When crime takes place, FIR is registered underlying that there is a crime.
Pais: Clearly Delhi Police had nothing but Republic TV and CNN News 18.
Pais: Film City - seems like a place where all cases are manufactured these days.
Pais now reads a letter written to a news a channel which purportedly aired Khalid's speech in Maharashtra.
Now Pais reads the reply of the news channel.
Pais says that the channel says in the reply that they are enclosing a DVD. Pais: "The DVD is not a part of the chargesheet".
Pais: The channel did not have the raw footage. These are journalists who don't even go there but say that this is seditious.
Pais: Footage was obtained from a tweet done by BJP member. This is how it started. FIR 59 is not a crime.
Pais: Channel says there is no raw footage and it was taken from a tweet of BJP member.
Court: Video was broadcast without verifying?
Pais: Yes
Pais: Yes
Pais now refers to letter to Republic TV.
Pais reads response of channel which is quoted from letter as saying that they had not recorded the video originally.
Sr Adv Trideep Pais: Your material is a YT video, copies form a tweet. Journalist did not have a responsibility to go there and attend? Copying it from a politician's tweet. This is death of journalism. #UmarKhalid
Pais: 750 FIRs. I am not arraigned any of those. On March 6, emerges a template that can include anybody.
Pais: On March 6... You had a truncated version which was copied from YT, from a tweet.
Pais asks if Court would like to break. Court says it would continue hearing.
Pais: Khalid gave message of unity based on Gandhiji and that was termed as terror.
Pais: My case is better than anybody else's.
Pais: We will play the full speech for you.
Video concludes. Hearing resumes.
Pais: They got the speech on July 6 by sending officers to get the speech from Amravati...
Court: Can you tell me the meaning of "ehtejaat". Response: "It is protest".
Court: Can you tell me the meaning of "ehtejaat". Response: "It is protest".
Pais: This is the starting point and what does it say: Aap humaare khilaf hinsa karenge.. Hum jhande fehrayenge... Hum haste haste jail jaayenge...
Pais: He does not call for violence, violent methods. He speaks about the fears that people faced at Jamia... He says match fixing is by tv channels...
Pais: I produced it with the bail application. This is the best evidence they have and I produced it in my bail application. They did not produce it. #Bail #UmarKhalid
Pais: They come up with a theory that conspiracy of violence at Khajuri Khas was hatched on January 8 and that meeting is relied on FIR 59.
Pais reads Police statement regarding visit of former US President Donald Trump and the alleged conspiracy against the accused persons.
Pais refers to statement of co-accused Tahir Hussain who was arrested in the case. The portion is of a purported meeting of Hussain, another accused Khalid Saifi and Khalid. #DelhiRiots
Pais: Chargesheet says that world got to know that Donald Trump would visit. If Hussain, Khalid and Saifi knew he was coming, how come the MEA did not know? The first info was on January 14, 2020 by a journalist of the visit.
Pais: The story changed after that. The witness changed his statement. It is shocking that how they will clutch onto their straws and lie.
Correction* Pais refers to a witness statement who was arrested in the case. The portion is of a purported meeting of Tahir Hussain, another accused Khalid Saifi and Khalid. #DelhiRiots
Pais: Everything happens afterwards in this riot case.
Pais: They don't want the judiciary to be a part of it. If they could deny bail themselves, they would have done that.
Pais argues on the basis of the purported witness statement in the case. "It is the same tailor which makes clothes for different people. In the statement in itself the witness is contradicting himself."
Pais: "Pehla bola bhadkau bhashan hai, but did not produce the video. Jab tak mila aapne 18 logon ko arrest kar liya tab tak. (First you said it is an instigating speech, but not produce the video. By the time it was received, 18 people had been arrested in the case.)"
Pais: This is a joke. On March 6 you had nothing and then you got statement as and when you wanted to arrest someone. No accused should be held in this FIR. This is a cooked up a FIR. #FIR59 #UAPA #UmarKhalid
Court to continue with the bail arguments on September 3rd and 6th. #UmarKhalid
Sr Adv Rebecca John appears on screen. There is a matter coming up relating to Khalid Saifi. Would your honour do it virtually or physically?
Court will hear the matter physically.
Court poses query to prosecution: If you say there is a bar under Section 34(D) UAPA. During granting of bail, does it result in discharge?
Despite an embargo, if there is a middle ground for bail, asks Court.
*Correction: Section 43(D)
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