Judiciary should immediately release Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam – Tarksheel Society

Barnala    (Asian independent)   The Tarksheel Society Punjab has strongly opposed the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss the review petition seeking bail for former student leaders Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. The organization accused the higher judiciary of adopting double standards and grossly neglecting democratic and constitutional rights. In a joint press statement, state committee leaders Master Rajinder Bhadaur, Rajpal Bathinda,Sumeet Amritsar, Sukhwinder Bagpur, Kuljit Danger Kheda and Zonal head Parmved Sangrur said that Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, and other social activists were falsely implicated on charges of inciting violence during the democratic movement against the discriminatory and communal Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). They said that their continued imprisonment under the UAPA and other harsh legal provisions is nothing but a politically motivated attempt to silence voices questioning those in power. The rationalist leaders alleged that Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and other activists have remained in jail since 2020 without bail and without trial. In contrast, they said, the real accused in the Delhi violence—leaders of the BJP and other saffron groups who openly spread communal hatred and violence—continue to enjoy political and state protection under the Hindutva regime. They said that the judiciary must protect constitutional, democratic, and civil rights in order to preserve the credibility of the justice system, and should not deliver biased judgments under any kind of pressure. They demanded the immediate and unconditional release of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, all democratic activists, and political prisoners, and called for all false cases filed to suppress dissenting voices to be withdrawn immediately.