Umar Khalid with Banjyosna Lahiri.
NEW DELHI: After the Supreme Court verdict on Monday denying him bail, Umar Khalid said that jail was his life now. His partner Banjyosna Lahiri said that he was happy and relieved for the co-accused who were granted bail, even as he remarked that prison has now become his life.Sharing Khalid’s reaction on X, Lahiri quoted him as saying: “I am really happy for the others who got bail. So relieved.” When she told him she would come the next day for a meeting, Khalid replied, “Good, good, aa jana. Ab yahi zindagi hai.” The Supreme Court refused to grant bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, holding that a prima facie case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was made out against them. At the same time, the top court granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.The Supreme Court also observed that delay in the conduct of a trial cannot be treated as a “trump card” to automatically override statutory safeguards under stringent laws such as the UAPA.The violence in northeast Delhi in February 2020, which broke out during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, claimed 53 lives and left more than 700 people injured. All seven accused were booked under the UAPA and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code, with the prosecution alleging that they were among the “masterminds” behind the riots.
