Delhi riots case: Why won't India release Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam?

"The Delhi riot conspiracy case has become emblematic of the institutional persecution of Muslims under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi, India India's Supreme Court has granted bail to five Muslim students and activists in prison for more than five years in connection with the 2020 religious riots in the capital, New Delhi. But the top court denied bail to two high-profile scholars Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam who will remain in the high-security Tihar jail waiting for their trials to start."

"A change to India's citizenship law in 2019, which Muslims say is discriminatory, had sparked nationwide peaceful protests. Muslims the country's largest minority, with a population of more than 200 million demanded that a secular nation like India should not make faith a basis for citizenship. But the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi cracked down on the peaceful protesters, arresting hundreds, many of them under anti-terror laws, and killing dozens."

"Shamshad Ahmed's son Shadab Ahmed was among those granted bail on Monday, ending an arduous wait of more than five years. Ahmed had been in jail since April 2020, without a trial. We are feeling very elated, the 67-year-old father told Al Jazeera, his voice overlapping with cheers in the background. The justice was delayed, but at least it was not denied."

India's Supreme Court granted bail to five Muslim students and activists after more than five years in detention related to the 2020 New Delhi religious riots. The court denied bail to scholars Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who remain in Tihar jail awaiting trials. Shadab Ahmed, jailed since April 2020, was among those released, prompting family relief and public cheers. A 2019 change to India's citizenship law prompted nationwide peaceful protests by Muslims opposing faith-based citizenship criteria. The Modi government cracked down on protesters, arresting hundreds, applying anti‑terror laws to many, and causing dozens of deaths. Prolonged pretrial detention exemplifies accusations of institutional persecution.

Read at www.aljazeera.com