Thread by @barandbench

Delhi High Court is hearing the appeal filed by former JNU student Umar Khalid seeking bail in the Delhi Riots larger conspiracy case.
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The appeal is being heard by a bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar.
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Sr Adv Trideep Pais appears for Khalid and informs that he has supplied the documents to explain the meaning of the words 'inqulab' and 'krantikar' as requested by the court.
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J Bhatnagar says he would like to hear the speech again.

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The speech is played once again in the court.

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Judges say they are not able to hear the speech properly.

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Judges ask for a transcript of the speech as well.
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J Bhatnagar: What is this mr Pais hindustam m sab changa nahi si? what is that that word? the speech says something else.

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J Bhatnagar: Donald trump ko ye na pata lag jaae..
Counsel reads the speech and says the phrase used is "bharat m Modi nanga si hai".
J bhatnagar: What is this?

J Bhatnagar: He is making the statement against PM. Some other words could have been used against the PM of India. This is just a thought that came to our mind.

J Bhatnagar: He could have stopped at Bharat me sab changa si. There could have been a purnviram (full stop) at changa si.

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Pais: He could have but it is not incitement to violence. In hindsight we could say anything. Please listen to the speech again.

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Pais: Please see the video. There is a stage. The audience sitting on chairs. A programme is prepared. People are sitting in orderly fashion. there is no chaos, no one is getting excited.

Pais: The words 'nanga si' is a metaphor.
J Bhatnagar: Did Mahatma Gandhi use words like these in his speeches. He is saying he follows Mahatma Gandhi

Pais quotes an instance where a sitting finance minister used the word like napunsak (impotent) in a public meeting for his predecessor and it was reported across the media.
J Bhatnagar: So this is the democracy of this country?

J Bhatnagar: these were the questions that came into out mind.

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Pais: These words have to be seen in a context. I have give some compilations. Please see those.

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Pais is now on mute.

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Pais: Please see the explanation of the word revolution in the context of reform.

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Pais: Your lordships had specifically asked by the meaning of revolution, krantikari and inquilab zindabad. I have placed ten documents.

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J Mridul: We know what the inquilab zindabad means. All of us are familiar with it. You did not use the word inquilab zindabad. You used inquilab in conjunction with Krantikari. We want to know what you meant by that.

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Pais: Alright my lord. There is a historian who describes the word inquilab. The historian is Irfan Habib.

Pais: My lord, inquilab according to Professor habib means revolution.
J Mridul: The point is inquilab has a secondary meaning. No one can misconstrue the maning of inquilab zindabad. The question is what he meant by inquilab.

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Pais now refers to a tweet of Prime Minister Modi.
J Mridul: He is talking about an industrial revolution.

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J Mridul: Inquilab has to be looked into the context in which you have used it. We are asking you the context in which you have used it.
Pais: I have asked it in context of a discriminatory law and people standing against it.

Pais: By no stretch of imagination the use of words inquilab, krantikari or revolution a call for violence.

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Pais now reads the meaning of the word inquilab again.

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Mridul: You were askign for renunciation of the government?
Pais: No. I was asking for the law to be called back. That is also a revolution.

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Pais: Please then allow me to place the meaning of the word in context of Indian independence as well.
J Mridul: We are not yet independent? We are not at that stage.
Pais: I want to explain what Pandit Nehru meant by revolution.

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Pais' instructing counsel now reads the speech yet again.

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J Mridul: What does Krantikari isteqbal mean?

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J Mridul: We have not asked you the meanign of inquilab zindabad. We are asking what does Krantikari isteqbal mean?

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Pais: Isteqbal is reception. Krantikari means revolutionary. Second is engaged in political revolution.

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J Mridul: The core of the word is radical change.

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Pais: I have placed the documents to show the nuance of the word. Please allow me to play Irfan Habib's podcast. it explains the meaning of inquilab.

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Pais also refers to an article of The Hindu.
Pais: It is in relation of Pandit Nehru and revolution.

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Pais: What I am submitting is that people who thought of revolution do not have to resort to violence.
J Mridul: Please see what Maximilien Robespierre had to say about revolution. Yours is one perspective.

J Mridul: Revolution has to be violent that is why we use the prefix 'bloodless' to refer to a peaceful revolution.

Pais now refers to Balwant Singh case.
Pais: I now request if the meaning of the word inquilab can be played in the court.

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The podcast is being played in court.
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J Mridul: It raises more question than asnwers. We asked you in what context the words inquilab and krantikari were used. We didn't ask you the meaning of inquilab.

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Pais (after quoting Nehru): All I am submitting is if legal and democratic politics is allowed then revolution in its traditional meaning becomes superfluous. This is what Nehru said.

J Mridul: All that is now missing is the Beatles' song on revolution.
There is sher from Kaifi Azmi. He said, "Rahe na rind ye vaiz k bas ki baat nhi, tamam sheher hain do char das ki baat nahi."

J Mridul: So the call to revolution does not have to affect the people immediately present. That is why we referred to Maximilian Robespeare. The very fact that Pandit Nehru believed revolution had become superfluous shows how it was completely opposite of change.

J Mridul: It's alright you don't need to dwell on this any further.

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J Mridul: I think we should now start with the chargesheet and what it says in relation to why it is a terrorist activity. What is that you have alleged to have done which is a terrorist activity.

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Pais: There are 17 allegations against me.
J Mridul: So look at both. The overall conspiracy and the allegations against you.

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Judges are discussing.
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Pais now reads the chargesheet.

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Pais: It says Umar Khalid is the mentor of Sharjeel Imam. Imam was called a religious fanatic and he was the person Khalid was looking for.
I will show other parts where this kind of flowery language was used: Pais.

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Pais: There is not a single document to show that Imam was protege of Khalid. This is the imagination of the person who wrote this chargesheet.

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Pais: This is the fertile imagination.

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Pais: Apart from high flown words and hyperbole there is nothing else.

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Pais: While was added to MSJ I never sent even a single message
MSJ stands for Muslim Students of Jamia.

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Pais: MSJ does not show in any manner any link to Umar Khalid. On December 4, 2019, cabinet committee gave the nod to bring the CAA. It says group was formed on direction of Umar Khalid. This is absolutely false.

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J Mridul: We will pause here today. This is a special bench. We propose that from Monday onwards we will hear it in post-lunch session.

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J Mridul: We want to finish this before the vacation.
SPP Amit Prasad says he will take four to five hours to finish his arguments.

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Order: List for further hearing on Monday at 2:15pm.
Hearing over.

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