
After the Supreme Court denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, several activists and legal experts have raised concerns about what the decision means for liberty and justice. While the court did acknowledge that prolonged incarceration, particularly pre-trial detention, seriously infringes the right to life and personal liberty (Article 21), legal experts have noted how the court “steadily empties it of consequence”.