'Ab toh yehi zindagi hai': Umar Khalid's friend recounts reaction after SC order

New Delhi: An accquantaince of jailed Delhi riots accused Umar Khalid has revealed his reaction after being denied bail yet against by the Supreme Court.

The apex court on Monday denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in a case pertaining to an alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 north-east Delhi riots. According the court there was a prima facie case against the accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA.

However, the SC granted bail to several other accused, including Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad.

What did Khalid’s friend say?
 
According to Khalid’s partner Banojyotsna Lahiri, the former student leader was “happy and relieved” for his co-accused who got bail in the Delhi riots case. 

In a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Lahiri said, "I am really happy for the others, who got bail! So relieved", Umar said.”

He said that “jail is my life now”, Lahiri posted on X.

She revealed that she told Khalid that she would come for the jail meeting on Tuesday, to which he replied, “Good good, aa jana. Ab yahi zindagi hai (Do come. This is my life now).”

What did the Supreme Court say?

In its judgement, the court noted that Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam stand on a "qualitatively different footing" both in terms of prosecution and evidence. It noted that their roles were "central" to the alleged offences. As regards these two, though the period of incarceration is continued and long it does not violate the Constitutional mandate or override the statutory embargo under the laws.
The SC bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria delivered the judgment on the bail pleas filed by Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed. Earlier, the apex court had reserved its verdict on December 10 after hearing detailed arguments from all parties.

What did the Delhi Police say?

The Delhi Police objected to the bail pleas, saying the alleged offences involved a deliberate attempt to destabilise the state. It argued that these were not spontaneous protests but a well-orchestrated "pan-India" conspiracy aiming at "regime change" and "economic strangulation".

The Delhi Police further submitted that the conspiracy was allegedly planned to coincide with the official visit of the then US President to India, with the intention of drawing international media attention and globalising the issue of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).