AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said the long jail stay of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam is due to amendments made to the UAPA during the Congress-led UPA government. He claimed the same “subjective” provisions he opposed in Parliament are now being used to deny them bail.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has directly blamed the Congress party for the long imprisonment of student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who are accused in the larger conspiracy case related to the 2020 Delhi riots.
The comments came after the Supreme Court of India on Monday refused to grant bail to Khalid and Imam. The top court explained the reasons for denying bail while considering the serious allegations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Owaisi said that the continued jail stay of the two undertrial prisoners is a direct result of amendments made to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act during the Congress-led UPA government. He stated that the law, which is now being used to keep Khalid and Imam behind bars for more than five years, was strengthened by the Congress itself.
Speaking on the issue, Owaisi said that when senior Congress leader P Chidambaram was the Union Home Minister, amendments were introduced to the UAPA. According to him, these changes expanded the scope of the law in such a way that it has led to prolonged incarceration of undertrial prisoners many years later.
Quoting his reaction to the Supreme Court order, Owaisi said,
“The Supreme Court did not grant bail to two undertrial accused; it explained why it did not grant bail. During the UPA government, the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act was amended, and included a definition of what constitutes terrorism,”.
The AIMIM leader also recalled that he had raised serious objections to the UAPA when the amendments were being discussed in Parliament. He said he had warned that some provisions of the law were vague and open to misuse.
Referring to his speech in the Lok Sabha, Owaisi said,
“I am referring to 2007 or 2008. I said in the parliament: ‘kindly see section 15 (a) of the principal act that states ‘by any other means of whatever nature to cause or likely to cause. This is a subjective thing, and tomorrow Arundhati Roy can be arrested for what she is writing. This is subjective, and who defines it?'”
Owaisi stressed that the same reasoning he had flagged years ago is now being used to deny bail to Khalid and Imam. He said the broad and subjective language of the law has become the basis for keeping them in jail for over five and a half years without conviction.
Continuing his criticism of the Congress, Owaisi said,
“Using this very basis of ‘by any other means’, which the Congress had legislated, and about which I had already said that it would be misused, today two young men, who are in jail for five and a half years, didn’t get bail. The people who made the law were from the Congress, and the Home Minister was Chidambaram. Has any leader of the Congress ever been in jail for one year, two years, or five and a half years since independence?”
While Khalid and Imam were denied bail, the Supreme Court granted relief to five other accused in the same case. Those who were granted bail include Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad.
The case once again brings the spotlight on the strict bail provisions under the UAPA and the political debate around its alleged misuse, especially in cases involving protests and dissent.
Supreme Court’s Judgment
The apex court clarified that delays in trial proceedings cannot automatically justify bail, emphasizing that statutory safeguards under the law remain paramount. The bench highlighted the importance of protecting constitutional values, including the sovereignty, integrity, and security of the nation, as well as maintaining public order.
While the court granted conditional bail to five other accused, Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohammad Salim Khan, and Shadab Ahmad, it cited Khalid and Imam’s positions in the alleged conspiracy as reasons for their continued detention. According to the prosecution’s narrative, they held a higher rank in the alleged hierarchy of the conspiracy.
Background of the Case
Sharjeel Imam was arrested on January 28, 2020, following speeches he delivered during anti-CAA protests. Umar Khalid was later arrested on September 13, 2020. Both were charged under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), which has strict provisions regarding bail and pre-trial detention.
The Supreme Court noted that Khalid can reapply for bail after one year if there is no significant progress in the trial, leaving their families and supporters hoping for a future legal reprieve.
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