The Delhi High Court asked whether the right to free speech extends to making “obnoxious statements” and whether it does not attract the provisions of 153A and 153B of the Indian Penal Code.
File image of former JNU student leader Umar Khalid. PTI
The Delhi High Court Friday said that student activist Umar Khalid’s speech at Amravati in February 2020, which forms part of the chargesheet against him in the larger conspiracy case related to the Northeast Delhi riots, was “offensive and obnoxious.”
A bench headed by Justice Siddharth Mridul said that certain statements in the speech were “offence per se” and gave an impression that only one institution fought for the independence of the country.
The court granted three days to the Delhi Police, represented by special public prosecutor Amit Prasad, to file its short reply to the bail application filed in the case under the stringent UAPA and listed the case for further hearing on 27 April.
“All this is offensive, obnoxious. Don’t you think? These expressions being used, don’t you think they incite people? You say things like aapke purvaj angrezun ki dalali kar rahe the, you don’t think it is offensive? It is offensive per se. This is not the first time that you said so in this speech. You said this at least five times. It is almost as if we distinctly get the impression that it was only one particular community that fought for India’ independence,” LiveLaw quoted the division bench of Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar as saying after Khalid’s lawyers read the contents of his speech before the court.
The court was hearing the appeal against the dismissal of his bail plea by a lower court in the case.
Senior advocate Trideep Pais, appearing for the petitioner, said the Amravati speech was made in the context of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the violence at Jamia Milia Islamia.
The senior lawyer sought bail on grounds that Khalid was not present when the violence broke out, no money was recovered from him and the case is based on cooked up statements. The court stated that for the offence of conspiracy, the accused need not be present at the place of the offence. The senior lawyer informed the court that the present FIR was “premised” on certain portions of the speech.
Pais submitted that it was an opinion of an individual being given in a speech and that there was “absolutely no incitement” and no reaction among the public afterwards.
However, the bench questioned whether the freedom of speech could extend to such statements and whether Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was attracted.
“We are not surprised that the FIR is premised on this part of the speech…Prima facie this is not acceptable. This is not acceptable in four corners of democracy and free speech.” Bar&Bench quoted the bench as saying.
“It is very easy to invoke Bhagat Singh but difficult to emulate him… There was a gentleman who was eventually hanged …. He stayed there…, he did not run away. You are saying you weren’t even there,” stated the court.
The bench went on to issue a notice in the appeal against the order rejecting bail. Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad accepted notice on behalf of the prosecution and said: “We will give you the shortest date, we don’t want to keep it pending for long.”
The matter will be heard next on 27 April.
A Delhi Court dismissed the bail plea of Umar Khalid on 24 March. Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat had dismissed the bail plea saying there reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against the Umar Khalid are prima facie true, hence, the embargo created by Section 43D of UAPA applies for a grant of bail to the accused and also, the embargo contained in Section 437 Cr. P. C.
Umar Khalid is an accused in northeast Delhi Violence larger conspiracy case. He was arrested on 13 September 2020 under Sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
With inputs from agencies
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