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'Difference between truth and hope': Why Owaisi blamed Congress for Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam's jail without trial
Supreme Court earlier this week denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam who have been in jail for their alleged role in 2020 Delhi riots case.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has blamed the Congress for the prolonged incarceration of activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have been jailed without trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for their alleged role in the 2020 Delhi riots.
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Owaisi on Thursday slammed Congress for its alleged role in strengthening the stringent provisions of the UAPA and alleged that the amendments introduced by Congress, when P Chidambaram was the union home minister, have resulted in prolonged incarceration of undertrial prisoners, including scholar-activists Khalid and Imam.
What Owaisi said
“The Supreme Court did not grant bail to two undertrial accused, and the Supreme Court 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,” All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Lok Sabha MP Owaisi was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
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Owaisi said he had flagged certain provisions of the UAPA earlier also and said the basis for refusing bail to Khalid and Imam was the same he had pointed out in his Lok Sabha speech.
"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?'" he was quoted as saying.
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Owaisi pointed to clause 43D of the UAPA, which allows detention of up to 180 days without a chargesheet, asserting that minorities are routinely kept in custody for the maximum period.
"This speech of mine is recorded in the Lok Sabha. I had talked about 180 days of detention under clause 43D: 'I can say with full confidence that in 100 per cent of the cases where minorities are arrested, they will be in detention for 180 days without a chargesheet'," he said.
He further added, “I said that 'the ground reality is that there is a huge difference between truth and hope. The man in uniform harbours a kind of hatred. I said this is a fact as per Muslim Aqliyaat. I can say with full confidence that they will be detained for 180 days'.”
SC rejects Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam's bail plea
On January 5, Supreme Court refused to grant bail Khalid and activist Imam in the alleged larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots, holding that the gravity and statutory nature of the offences alleged against them, coupled with their purported central role in the conspiracy, disentitled them to relief at this stage.
A bench of justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria held that Khalid and Imam stood “qualitatively on a different footing” from the remaining accused, observing that the material placed on record prima facie indicated their “central and formative roles” in the planning and strategic direction of the alleged offence.
Delivering the verdict, the bench rejected the argument that prolonged incarceration alone could justify bail in cases governed by the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). “Delay cannot be the trump card to outweigh statutory limitations and the facts of a particular case,” he said, stressing that courts must first assess the gravity of the offence, the statutory framework, the role attributed to each accused and the prima facie evidentiary value of the prosecution’s case.
