Mahua Moitra Extends Support to Umar Khalid After SC Denies Bail in Delhi Riots Case

Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra on Monday voiced her support for jailed student activist Umar Khalid following the Supreme Court’s order declining to grant him bail in the 2020 north-east Delhi riots case. Khalid has been incarcerated under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for his alleged role in a ‘larger conspiracy’ behind the communal violence that left more than 70 people dead and hundreds injured.

Responding to the court’s decision, Moitra took to social media to express solidarity with Khalid, invoking a powerful literary reference. In her post, she quoted lines from Maya Angelou’s iconic poem Still I Rise, framing Khalid’s continued incarceration as a test of resilience in the face of what she described as injustice.

“You Will Rise @UmarKhalidJNU
You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise…
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.”

The verses, quoted by Moitra, are from Angelou’s celebrated poem Still I Rise, long regarded as a symbol of resistance against oppression and discrimination.

Umar Khalid, a former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader, was arrested in September 2020 by the Delhi Police’s Special Cell. The prosecution has alleged that Khalid was part of a “larger conspiracy” to orchestrate the February 2020 riots in north-east Delhi, charges he has consistently denied. He is accused under multiple provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the UAPA, making bail difficult unless the court finds the accusations prima facie untrue.

The Supreme Court, while hearing Khalid’s plea challenging earlier bail rejections by lower courts, declined to interfere at this stage, effectively keeping him in custody. The court observed that it was not commenting on the merits of the case, which remain under trial.

Moitra’s statement adds to a chorus of voices from opposition parties and civil society who have raised concerns over the prolonged incarceration of undertrial prisoners in the Delhi riots cases. Leaders from Left parties, including CPI(M) figures such as Brinda Karat and Sitaram Yechury, have previously spoken out in support of Khalid, questioning the use of UAPA against student activists. Congress leaders and several academics and writers have also called for his release, citing constitutional rights and due process.

Similar support has been extended to Sharjeel Imam, another former JNU scholar arrested in connection with the same set of cases. Imam faces multiple FIRs, including charges of sedition and UAPA allegations, related to speeches made during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Political leaders such as AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and Swaraj India’s Yogendra Yadav have publicly argued that Imam’s speeches, while controversial, do not warrant prolonged incarceration without trial.​