Saifi, who led protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, has been languishing in jail for the last five years without getting bail
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI – Social activist Khalid Saifi would remember his fifth consecutive birthday on Monday (February 3) behind bars for the rest of his life because of the poignancy attached to it. Arrested on 26 January in the 2020 Delhi riots case, the activist was extended birthday wishes by his daughter on Monday during a virtual court hearing of the case related to the framing of charges against him.
Saifi, who led protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), has been languishing in jail for the last five years without getting bail and suffering the inordinate delay in the completion of his trial.
During the virtual hearing of the case, Saifi’s young daughter found the situation opportune to wish him a birthday after getting permission from the presiding judge Justice Sameer Bajpai. The beautiful exchanges between father and daughter left many people emotional and teary-eyed.
Senior journalist Betwa Sharma shared the emotional exchanges of love and affection between them through her social media. The conversation goes as:
“Happy birthday, appu ji,” she said.
“Thank you, mera bacha. I love you, betu,” he said.
“I love you too. I miss you, appu ji.”
“I miss you too. I miss you a lot.”
“I’m not crying. I’m happy to see you” he said.
The conversation between the daughter and her incarcerated father has gone viral on social media with emotional reactions from the users.
Mohammed Riyaz, an assistant professor at Kolkata University, said he got tears in his eyes after reading their conversation.
“As a father to a young daughter, as I read this post, tears came out spontaneously. May Allah give them strength and make it easy!,” wrote Riyaz on X.
Natasha Narwal, the activist jailed in the same case but is out on bail, said: “In the universe of conspiracies, charge sheets, IPC sections, and ‘productions’ of the accused, Mariam asking the ‘Reader Sir’ to talk to her abbu to wish him Happy Birthday, was like an arrow piercing through all of it, reminding the heart that it can still bleed”.
Saifi, one of the leaders of the civil rights group United Against Hate, has been struggling to get bail. His bail application is either being not heard or not adjudicated. His plea continues to be pending before the Delhi High Court and has been heard thrice afresh.
“My client was arrested in March 2020 and the court has neither framed charges against him nor commenced trial in the case. His bail plea was first filed in the HC in May 2022, and we have to now argue it for a third time all over again. This chronology itself is unconscionable. The right to a speedy trial and the right to be granted bail are constitutional rights,” said Saifi’s attorney, senior advocate Rebecca John.
In November last year, Saifi and other jailed activists approached the court for bail on the grounds of long incarceration and parity with the other accused granted bail.
Recently, eminent personalities including actor Naseeruddin Shah, historians Romila Thapar, Rajmohan Gandhi, Ramchandra Guha, author Amitabh Gosh, noted human rights activist Harsh Mander and others issued a joint statement demanding the release of all anti-CAA activists including Saifi.
The statement asserted that activists like Saifi were incarcerated not because they had incited communal riots in Delhi but had stood up for peace and justice and advocated dissidence against unjust laws.