The court’s decision was a violation of the legal principle that bail should be the rule and jail the exception, says the party’s Polit Bureau
NEW DELHI – The denial of bail to student activists Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and eight others by the Delhi High Court is “travesty of justice”, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said on Thursday.
Criticising the court order, the party’s Polit Bureau said in a statement that this was the fifth time their bail pleas were turned down, despite the fact that charges against them have not been framed even after five years.
The activists have been languishing in jail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.
The CPI(M) said the court’s decision was a violation of the legal principle that bail should be the rule and jail the exception.
The statement also questioned why those accused of delivering provocative speeches, such as BJP leaders Kapil Mishra, Parvesh Verma (now ministers in Delhi local government) and Anurag Thakur, remain free, while the ten youth continue to languish in prison without trial. Despite FIR lodged against the BJP leaders, the Delhi Police, which comes under the Union Home Ministry, didn’t initiate any investigation against them, the Left party said.
The CPI(M) further pointed out the contrast with cases like the 2008 Malegaon blast, where the accused including Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit were acquitted. The BJP-led Maharashtra government refused to challenge the Special Court order acquitting them while it has shown much alacrity in challenging the exoneration of 11 Muslim youths in Mumbai blast case.
