New Delhi: After jailed activist Umar Khalid was denied bail by the Supreme Court on Monday, his partner Banojyotsna Lahiri shared a brief personal exchange with him on social media.
Sharing his reaction on her X handle, Lahiri quoted Khalid as saying, “I am really happy for the others who got bail. So relieved.” When she told him that she would come the next day for "Mulaqat" (to meet) , Khalid replied, “Good, good, aa jana. Ab yahi zindagi hai.” Which roughly translates to, this is life now.
On January 5, the Supreme Court refused to grant bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 case, stating there was a prima facie case against them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
At the same time, the apex court granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad.
The February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. The police have accused Khalid and others of orchestrating a conspiracy, while the accused continue to deny involvement. The trial has not yet started, but Khalid, a former JNU student, has spent five years in jail as an accused so far.
The two-judge bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria held that delay in trial does not operate as a “trump card” that automatically overrides statutory safeguards.
Sharjeel Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police on January 28, 2020, from Jehanabad in Bihar, in connection with a sedition case over his alleged inflammatory speeches opposing the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). He was subsequently named as an accused in the FIR related to the alleged conspiracy behind the Delhi riots.
Umar Khalid was taken into custody in September 2020 in connection with what the police described as the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
Khalid and Imam, along with Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider and Shifa Ur Rehman, have been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA), as well as various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), for allegedly orchestrating the riots that claimed 53 lives and left more than 700 people injured.
