{"id":191905,"date":"2026-01-05T16:57:59","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T11:57:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/?p=191905"},"modified":"2026-01-05T16:57:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T11:57:59","slug":"indias-sc-denies-bail-to-muslim-student-activist-umar-khalid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kmsnews.org\/kms\/2026\/01\/05\/indias-sc-denies-bail-to-muslim-student-activist-umar-khalid.html","title":{"rendered":"India’s SC denies bail to Muslim student activist Umar Khalid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"New Delhi: India’s Supreme Court denied bail for former student leader Umar Khalid, who has been detained for more than five years.<\/p>\n

According to Kashmir Media Service, Umar Khalid, 38, was arrested in September 2020 under a sweeping anti-terrorism law and has remained in custody since, aside from brief releases to attend family weddings.<\/p>\n

His case has become a touchstone for critics who say India\u2019s more than 200 million Muslims face discriminatory treatment in the Hindu-majority nation.<\/p>\n

Khalid was detained after February 2020 sectarian riots in Delhi when 53 people were killed, mostly Muslims.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court in New Delhi dismissed his appeal for bail, saying that \u201cprolonged incarceration\u201d was not grounds to grant him release.<\/p>\n

It also denied bail on the same grounds to another student activist, Sharjeel Imam. But approved bail for five others in the same case.<\/p>\n

In 2022, he published an open letter saying that \u201cwe can be kept in jail for years, without those framing us needing to prove anything\u201d.<\/p>\n

His partner, Banojyotsna Lahiri, has said that Khalid \u201cbecame the victim of the injustice that he always fought against\u201d.<\/p>\n

Amnesty International and six other rights groups issued a statement in September calling for the release of Umar Khalid and others.<\/p>\n

\u201cKhalid\u2019s prolonged persecution exemplifies the derailment of justice in India, as it makes a mockery of international human rights principles,\u201d Amnesty said in a statement to mark Khalid\u2019s fifth year in prison.<\/p>\n

Khalid\u2019s arrest came months after protests against India\u2019s contentious Citizen Amendment Act (CAA).<\/p>\n

The 2019 law makes it easier for persecuted religious minorities from three neighbouring countries to obtain citizenship, but not if they are Muslim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New Delhi: India’s Supreme Court denied bail for former student leader Umar Khalid, who has been detained for more than five years. According to Kashmir Media Service, Umar Khalid, 38, was arrested in September 2020 under a sweeping anti-terrorism law and has remained in custody since, aside from brief releases to attend family weddings. His …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":191906,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-india"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t