'Free Umar Khalid': JNU Students Plan Solidarity March On September 13 After Delhi HC Denies Bail

New Delhi: After the Delhi High Court turned down activist Umar Khalid's bail plea in the northeast Delhi riots conspiracy case, the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) declared plans to hold a solidarity march on September 13, marking five years since his arrest. Protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in February 2020 spiraled into communal violence in northeast Delhi, leaving 53 people dead and over 700 injured. Umar Khalid, a former JNU research scholar, was arrested in September 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) along with several others. The prosecution maintains that the unrest was not spontaneous but the result of a coordinated conspiracy. Khalid's partner, Banjyotsana Lahiri, said the Supreme Court is now their only recourse.“Keeping someone in jail for five years without trial should itself be a ground for bail. We do not understand the reasons for this rejection. As citizens, we look to the courts for justice,” she told PTI, adding that they still hope for relief.

JNUSU president Nitish Kumar accused the authorities of shielding the real culprits while targeting student leaders.“There is a clear pattern. Those who raise their voices against the government are denied bail, while many responsible for the violence walk free, some even holding ministerial posts,” he said. Since his arrest at the age of 38, Khalid has only been granted two brief interim bails, once in December 2022 and again in December 2024. He also withdrew a Supreme Court bail plea in February 2024, with his lawyer Kapil Sibal citing“changed circumstances” and choosing to approach the trial court instead.

Delhi HC Denies Bail

During the hearings, Umar Khalid submitted that merely being on WhatsApp groups, without sending any message, is no criminality. Umar Khalid also said that no money or items were recovered from him, and that the so-called secret meeting on the night of February 23–24, 2020 was not secret at all, as the prosecution claimed. Sharjeel Imam argued that he has no connection with any of the other accused and denied participating in any conspiracy or related meetings, contrary to the claims of the Delhi Police. His lawyer, Advocate Talib Mustafa, pointed out that the prosecution's allegations against Imam only extend up to January 23, 2020, with the last act attributed to him being a speech delivered in Bihar. 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Delhi Police, opposed the bail requests, stating that anyone acting against the country should remain in custody until the court reaches a verdict. He further contended that the accused had intended to tarnish India's image internationally by orchestrating riots and arson on specific dates.

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