Delhi riots: HC questions Umar Khalid over use of certain words against PM

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Friday questioned former JNU student Umar Khalid, arrested in a UAPA case related to the alleged conspiracy behind the riots here in February 2020, for using certain words against Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his speech in Amravati.

The high court said some other words could have been used for the Prime Minister in the speech and the line could have been framed in a better manner.

A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar was hearing Khalid's plea challenging a trial court's order which had on March 24 dismissed his bail application in the case.

As the speech delivered by Khalid on February 17,2020, was played in the courtroom, Justice Bhatnagar objected to the use of certain objectionable words used in the speech in Hindi.

What is this? How can you use the word like for the Prime Minister of the Country? You could have framed it in a better way. He is making the statement against the Prime Minister. Some other words could have been used for the Prime Minister. He could have stopped at , Justice Bhatnagar said.

Senior advocate Trideep Pais, representing Khalid, said the words were used as a metaphor to show that the real and practical issues of the country were being hidden in reality.

He said Khalid could have stopped but it is not incitement to violence.

Did Mahatma Gandhi use words like these in his speeches? He is, again and again, saying that we will follow Mahatma Gandhi Ji, the judge said.

To this, the counsel said that in a democratic set up, various methods are used to arrive at a conclusion or to expose what the government is doing and that one such way is by use of words and speeches.

The bench also asked what Khalid means by the word inqalab' and krantikari' used in his speech.