'Charges Absurd': Prashant Bhushan On 4-Year Detention Of Umar Khalid With No Trial, Bail (Photo on X @@pbhushan1)

Umar Khalid, student activist and former JNU research scholar, completed four years in jail on September 13 with no trial or bail since he was arrested in 2020 in connection with the Delhi riot “conspiracy” case under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Following the trial court’s denial of bail twice, Khalid’s bail plea is currently pending before the Delhi High Court. The High Court is scheduled to review his petition on October 7. The trial court will hear arguments on September 20 regarding the framing of charges against Khalid.

Read Also: Over 1,400 Days In Jail Without Trial, How Umar Khalid Is Spending Time At Delhi’s Tihar

Commenting on the unreasonably long detention of the former student leader, Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan today said the charges against Khalid are “demonstrably absurd,” asking “does the dictum of Bail being the rule and jail the exception does not apply to him, noting that especially when there is no chance of trial being over in a reasonable time. This is a huge blot on the judiciary,” wrote the lawyer on in an X post.

Umar Khalid has been in jail for 4 years w/o trial. The charges against him are demonstrably absurd. Does the dictum of Bail being the rule, jail the exception not apply to him, especially when there is no chance of trial being over in a reasonable time. This is a huge blot on… pic.twitter.com/dAoCDwUXtK

— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) September 14, 2024

The Supreme Court had recently reiterated the principle that “bail is the rule, jail is the exception,” underscoring that the dictum applies even to UAPA cases. The top court had also stressed that denying bail in deserving cases violates fundamental rights when it ordered the release of Jalaluddin Khan last month, who was also charged with UAPA for renting out the upper floor of his house to alleged members of the banned organization, Popular Front of India (PFI).

Read Also: Delhi High Court Grants Student Activist Sharjeel Imam Bail In Sedition Case

In May this year, the Supreme Court had granted bail to Sharjeel Imam, who had also been arrested under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code for allegedly masterminding the 2020 Delhi riots along with Khalid. A former JNU student, Sharjeel, spent four years without walking out of jail for delivering a speech against the CAA.

However, the police have so far been unable to provide any evidence linking them to any violence during the riots.