Delhi riots accused Khalid Saifi seeks bail from court!
delhi riots accused and founder of 'United Against Hate' Khalid Saifi on tuesday (04 March) sought bail on the ground of delay in trial. Saifi argued in the delhi High court that a constitutional court can grant him bail on the ground of delay in trial despite charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Saifi before a bench of Justice naveen Chawla and Justice Shalinder Kaur, requested parity with the co-accused who were out on bail in the same case and said that speedy trial is a constitutionally protected right which should be considered.
What did Khalid Saifi's lawyer say?
He said, "Delay is a fact which can be considered by the constitutional court even if there are provisions prohibiting bail. When you have such a draconian provision, it is the duty of the court to see whether a protest against an unfair law is akin to a terrorist act.''
'Full right to claim equality'
John said on behalf of his client, "I have full right to claim equality with the persons who were released on bail early on june 15, 2021. We have come after almost four years. I have been in custody since march 21, 2020." According to John, Saifi was the organizer of the protest in Khureji Khas and the protest was peaceful.
No weapon or money was found from Saifi - Lawyer
He said that no weapon or money or any other prosecutable material was found from Saifi. All three speeches given by Saifi were harmless and there was nothing inflammatory in them. He questioned the imposition of UAPA charges on Saifi's 'harmless messages', which ultimately became the basis for denying him bail. Earlier, the delhi Police had argued that the right to a speedy trial is not a free pass and in the present case, the right of society should prevail over the right of the individual.
It claimed that the accused persons made provocative speeches talking of 'chakka jam' and the protests were not natural. Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Saifi and several others were booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the IPC for allegedly being 'conspirators' of the february 2020 riots, in which 53 people were killed and over 700 were injured. Violence broke out during protests against the caa and NRC.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel