Activist Umar Khalid said prison has become his reality even as he expressed relief that several co-accused have secured bail in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, following a Supreme Court order on Monday.
The apex court declined to grant bail to Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, observing that a prima facie case had been made out against them under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
At the same time, the court allowed bail pleas of activists Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.
After the ruling, Khalid conveyed his reaction to his partner Banojyotsna Lahiri, who later shared their exchange on social media.
According to her post, Khalid said he was “really happy” and “relieved” for those who were granted bail, adding that jail was now his life.
Lahiri wrote that Khalid told her, “Ab yahi zindagi hai,” while asking her to visit him the next day.
The case relates to the February 2020 communal violence in northeast Delhi, which claimed 53 lives and left more than 700 people injured.
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Sharjeel Imam was first arrested on January 28, 2020, in connection with speeches delivered during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, and was later taken into custody in August that year in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the riots. Umar Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020.
All seven accused were charged under provisions of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code, with investigators alleging that they were among the “masterminds” behind the violence.
Section 16 of the UAPA prescribes punishment up to death or life imprisonment if a terrorist act results in loss of life.
The Supreme Court’s order has once again brought attention to the prolonged incarceration of some of the accused and the differing outcomes of bail pleas in cases registered under the stringent anti-terror law.
