"5-Year Jail Without Trial Itself Grounds For Bail": Umar Khalid's Partner

The Supreme Court is the only option left, Umar Khalid's partner said on Tuesday after the high court rejected the bail plea of the activist who has been in jail since September 2020 in a conspiracy case linked to the northeast Delhi riots.

Banojyotsna Lahiri expressed the hope that they will get justice in the near future. "Keeping someone in jail for five years without any trial is in itself a ground for bail. But Mr Khalid's plea is again rejected by the High Court. We do not understand the reason because, as citizens, we only look up to courts for justice. We will go to the Supreme Court, as that is the only option left for us," Lahiri told PTI.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) has also announced a solidarity march on September 13 to mark five years since Mr Khalid's arrest. A former research scholar at JNU, he first came into the limelight after he was booked along with other students for allegedly raising inflammatory slogans in February 2016 on the university campus. JNUSU president Nitish Kumar alleged that student activists were being deliberately targeted while those responsible for instigating the violence had walked free.

"This is a pattern we are seeing continuously that bail is not given to people who raise their voice against the administration. The main culprits of the Delhi riots are now out of jail, and some of them are ministers and MLAs in the government. Student activists are put in jail, while the main culprits roam free and are given high regard," he alleged.

On September 13, it would be five years since Umar Khalid was arrested and "we will march on that day in solidarity as we do every year," Kumar said.

Since his arrest, Mr Khalid, 38, had been granted interim bail for a week in December 2022 and then again for a similar duration in December 2024.

In February 2024, Mr Khalid withdrew his bail plea from the Supreme Court with his lawyer Kapil Sibal citing "change in circumstances" and saying they will try their luck in trial court.

Earlier in the day, the High Court dismissed the bail applications of Mr Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and seven other accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots.

Upholding a trial court order, the bench accepted the prosecution's argument that the violence was not spontaneous but the result of a "well-thought-out conspiracy" with a "sinister motive".

The Delhi Police had opposed the bail pleas, contending that speeches delivered by Mr Khalid, Imam and other co-accused carried a common thread of references to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), National Register of Citizens (NRC), Babri mosque, triple talaq and Kashmir, allegedly aimed at creating fear and division.

The communal violence, which broke out during protests against the CAA and NRC, left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. Mr Khalid, Imam and others were booked under UAPA and several provisions of the IPC for their alleged role in orchestrating the unrest.

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