AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has blamed Congress for activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam not getting bail, saying the stringent UAPA under which they have been booked was enacted during a Congress government. Both Mr. Khalid and Mr. Imam were denied bail by the Supreme Court in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case based on Section 15A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,” he said. It was then Home Minister P. Chidambaram who introduced the UAPA (during the Congress-led regime), Mr. Owaisi said, adding that he was the only one who objected to it in Parliament. “While Mr. Khalid and Mr. Imam are languishing in jail for five years, 85-year-old Stan Swamy—an accused in the Elgar Parishad case—died in jail because of this law,” Mr. Owaisi added. The Supreme Court on January 5 refused bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case but granted it to five others, citing “hierarchy of participation”.

Source: The Hindu January 11, 2026 15:41 UTC