In an interview to discuss the six attempts made by Umar Khalid to secure bail which have proven unsuccessful on each occasion, resulting in his spending five years in jail – and he continues to be there – former law minister Kapil Sibal, in answer to the question ‘what keeps going wrong in Khalid’s case?’ said:

“Well what keeps going wrong is the fact that I think the government wants to punish him and, in fact, silence all those young people who protested against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the agitations that were going on across Delhi, across many parts of the country. I think the government wanted to send a message that ‘we are not going to allow this’. From the point of view of the government, that was the intent.”

Sibal said that, second, the courts have dragged the matter on and on. He cited several examples of Khalid’s appeals for bail that have been subjected to multiple hearings stretching often over periods longer than 250 days.

Speaking about the recent denial of bail by the Delhi high court on September 2, Sibal called it “the grossest form of error and injustice”. He said: “I don’t know what the [Delhi] high court was blinded by.”

He confirmed that Khalid will be moving the Supreme Court for bail. That will be his seventh attempt at securing bail.

The advocate expressed concern and dismay that political parties have not taken up Khalid’s case as a cause celebre. He expressed similar dismay about the fact that the middle class and Indian society as a whole is not exercised about this case.

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