NEW DELHI — Appearing before a Delhi court on Thursday, October 9, 2025, former JNU scholar Umar Khalid said that he was singled out by the police in the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots, while many others bigger roles were not made an accused.
The communal violence that broke out February 2020 in North-East Delhi claimed 53 lives and displaced hundreds of residents, marking one of the deadliest riots the capital has seen in recent years.
Senior advocate Trideep Pais, representing Khalid, pointed out that that the police’s chargesheet referred to several WhatsApp groups but failed to explain why only Khalid was named as an accused while the group admins and other members were not, The Hindu reported.
The defence also highlighted another claim in the chargesheet that Mr. Khalid had attended a “conspiratorial meeting” in Jangpura on December 8, 2019.
Mr. Pais told the court that the meeting was also attended by activist and politician Yogendra Yadav and human rights activist Nadeem Khan, as submitted by the witnesses, and asked what the difference was between Mr. Yadav and others who attended the meeting and his client, who was booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
“If this is the conspiracy on which you are pegging… why haven’t you booked others as accused,” asked the senior advocate.
Pointing out the submissions of other witnesses who had told the police that they had heard Mr. Khalid saying that “students would launch protests across India, including Muslim students”, Mr. Pais asked about the “terror angle” in holding demonstrations and protests.
Mr. Khalid, who had spent over five years in jail, in the past hearings, had alleged that police had “fabricated evidence” to implicate him in the case.
The matter will now be heard on October 14.
The police had also booked Tahir Hussain, Khalid Saifi, Isharat Jahan, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Shadab Ahmed, Tasleem Ahmed, Saleem Malik, Mohd. Saleem Khan, Athar Khan, Safoora Zargar, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan, and Natasha Narwal under the UAPA and other charges.
Mr. Khalid’s bail plea was rejected by the Delhi High Court earlier last month.
