At the closing debate of JLF, Pavan K Varma posed a question that had the crowd in an uproar. ‘Would you want to be in jail without bail,’ he said, referring to Umar Khalid.
‘If an expeditious trial is not possible, then bail should be the rule and not the exception,’ ex-CJI DY Chandrachud told Vir Sanghvi at a Jaipur Literature Festival session on Sunday.
In a session titled 'The Measure of Justice' at JLF 2026, lawyers Ashwani Kumar and Vrinda Grover and US judge Ketu Shah discussed the Indian constitutional, moral and legal crises.
Citing their role in 'larger conspiracy' behind the 2020 riots, the court denied Umar Khalid & Sharjeel Imam bail despite years of incarceration, taking a position that contrasts with several of its earlier rulings.
Meanwhile, JNU security head on behalf of university administration filed a police complaint at Vasant Kunj police station regarding the protest that took place Monday.
SC has granted bail to 5 other accused. It said Umar Khalid & Sharjeel Imam can renew their applications only after a year or upon completion of examination of protected witnesses.
SC’s explanation of 'terror' assumes significance in view of the argument advanced by Umar-Sharjeel's counsels that refusing the duo bail conflated dissent & protest with terrorist activity.
Other than the Left, there was no official statement from any other opposition party, even as some leaders including from Congress flayed SC order in their individual capacities.
While Amit Malviya termed ruling a reaffirmation of ‘judicial independence’, spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala targeted Congress, saying it ‘glorified Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam’.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
The bigger issue in India is the amount of time it takes for a case to reach conclusion. Jagdish Tytler is still being prosecuted etc for the 1984 riots. He will probably pass away before the case concludes. Supreme Court of India has been self righteous in its observations but has done absolutely nothing to reduce time to finish cases. All manners of excuses are presented. But nothing gets done. All folks who are guilty., even terrorists can claim innocence after a while because the case is in progress. Consider folks like Yasin Malik. They can kidnap murder and them claim a change of heart in the 20 + years of prosecution. I think the Supreme Court and Justice System in India has been praised and feared too long due to fear of reprisal by everyone. There is no accountability from these folks.
No journalist dare ask any judge in any interview, what they owe the people of India and have they delivered? If so what are the repercussions? Anyone who is causing delays in a the normal execution of a prosecution should be severely fined. If it is the Lawyers, they need to be suspended and debarred. If it is judges we need to know how many cases can a judge handle in a day and are they doing less or more? Why is this all hidden from the people?
The Left-liberal media outlets have for long been batting on behalf of the likes of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid. These two have certainly become the darling of the Left-liberal cabal.
I clearly remember that when the JNU circus started, Kanhaiya Kumar and Shehla Rashid were the favourites of this cabal. Back then, they just could not get enough of those two. But now, it seems, they no longer enjoy the blessings of this cabal.
Umar Khalid along with Sharjeel Imam are the new favourites. Of late, even reputed journalists like Mr. Shekhar Gupta and Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai are championing their cause.
The bigger issue in India is the amount of time it takes for a case to reach conclusion. Jagdish Tytler is still being prosecuted etc for the 1984 riots. He will probably pass away before the case concludes. Supreme Court of India has been self righteous in its observations but has done absolutely nothing to reduce time to finish cases. All manners of excuses are presented. But nothing gets done. All folks who are guilty., even terrorists can claim innocence after a while because the case is in progress. Consider folks like Yasin Malik. They can kidnap murder and them claim a change of heart in the 20 + years of prosecution. I think the Supreme Court and Justice System in India has been praised and feared too long due to fear of reprisal by everyone. There is no accountability from these folks.
No journalist dare ask any judge in any interview, what they owe the people of India and have they delivered? If so what are the repercussions? Anyone who is causing delays in a the normal execution of a prosecution should be severely fined. If it is the Lawyers, they need to be suspended and debarred. If it is judges we need to know how many cases can a judge handle in a day and are they doing less or more? Why is this all hidden from the people?
The Left-liberal media outlets have for long been batting on behalf of the likes of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid. These two have certainly become the darling of the Left-liberal cabal.
I clearly remember that when the JNU circus started, Kanhaiya Kumar and Shehla Rashid were the favourites of this cabal. Back then, they just could not get enough of those two. But now, it seems, they no longer enjoy the blessings of this cabal.
Umar Khalid along with Sharjeel Imam are the new favourites. Of late, even reputed journalists like Mr. Shekhar Gupta and Mr. Rajdeep Sardesai are championing their cause.