New Delhi: After his bail petition was rejected by the Supreme Court on Monday, January 5, in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, while five others were granted bail, activist Umar Khalid reportedly told his partner, Banojyotsna Lahiri, “this is my life now.”

“I am really happy for the others, who got bail! So relieved,” Umar said.

When she said that she would visit him tomorrow, he replied, “Good good, aa jana. Ab yahi zindagi hai (Do come. This is my life now).”

On Monday, the Supreme Court rejected the bail plea of Khalid and Sharjeel Imam but granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmad.

The apex court said that there was a prima facie case against Khalid and Imam under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and it does not justify their enlargement on bail.

Lahiri, a senior researcher at the Delhi University, met Umar Khalid during their student years. She was doing Masters in Jawaharlal Nehru University, while Khalid was a Bachelor of Arts student from Delhi University. They met while protesting the 2008 Batla House encounter at the Jamia Millia Islamia and began a relationship in 2013.

Nothing to say: Khalid’s father
Meanwhile, Umar Khalid’s father, SQR Ilyas, said he has “nothing to say.”

“I have no comment to offer. It is very unfortunate. The judgment is there, and I have nothing to say about it,” the distraught father said.

Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and the other accused were booked under the draconian UAPA Act for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, which left 53 Muslims dead and more than 700 injured.

The violence erupted during widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

The accused moved the apex court, challenging a Delhi High Court order dated September 2 last year denying them bail in the “larger conspiracy” case of the February 2020 riots.

No bail to Umar but Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s gets 15th parole: Oppn
Opposition leaders raised questions over the bail denial, while pointing out that the rape convict Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim is granted consistent parole.

In a post on X, Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas said, “The principle that ‘bail is the rule, jail the exception’ clearly does not apply when it comes to certain individuals.”

“No bail to Umar Khalid — detained for over 5 years under the draconian UAPA, with the trial yet to even begin. Pre-trial jail is not a punishment!!” Brittas said.