Responding to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani writing a note to jailed activist Umar Khalid in December, the Indian government on Friday said that public representatives are expected to respect the independence of the judiciary in other democracies.
“Expressing personal prejudices do not behove those in office,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a press briefing. “Instead of such comments, it would be better to focus on the responsibilities entrusted to them.”
On January 1, Khalid’s partner Banojyotsna Lahiri said on social media that Mamdani had sent a handwritten note to the jailed activist. The letter was handed to Khalid’s parents during their visit to the United States in December.
Mamdani wrote that he often thought about Khalid’s words on bitterness and the “importance of not letting it consume one’s self”.
“We are all thinking of you,” the note added.
Lahiri shared Mamdani’s note on social media the day he was sworn in as the mayor of New York.
Lahiri said that Khalid’s parents, Sahiba Khanam and Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas, were in the US to visit one of their daughters ahead of a family wedding.
In 2023, Mamdani had read out portions of a letter written by Khalid at an event in New York, in which the activist reflected on not becoming bitter about his circumstances.
Khalid was arrested by the Delhi Police in September 2020.
The activist has been booked in an Unlawful Activities Prevention Act case pertaining to clashes that had broken out in February 2020 among supporters of the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it in North East Delhi. The violence had left 53 dead and hundreds injured. Most of those killed were Muslims.
The police have claimed that the violence was part of a larger conspiracy to defame the Narendra Modi government and was planned by those who organised the protests against the amended Citizenship Act.
On Monday, the Supreme Court denied bail to Khalid and another activist, Sharjeel Imam, in the case but allowed the bail applications of five others. The bench said that Khalid and Imam could file bail applications after all protected witnesses were examined or after one year.
It added that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the conduct of the two men was prima facie a terrorist act as defined under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Earlier December 30, US Congressman James P McGovern and seven other lawmakers also wrote to Indian Ambassador Vinay Mohan Kwatra raising concerns about the “prolonged” pre-trial detention of persons charged in cases related to the 2020 Delhi riots, including Khalid.
Referring to the case, they said that human rights groups, legal experts and the global media had questioned the fairness of the investigation and legal process. They noted that independent inquiries by rights organisations “did not find evidence” linking Khalid to terrorist activity.
The letter highlighted that Khalid had not been found guilty of a crime and “yet the pre-trial treatment to which he has been subjected is punitive in and of itself”.
On January 2, the Bharatiya Janata Party accused Mamdani of interfering in India’s internal affairs after he wrote a note to Khalid. During a press conference, party spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said that the country would not tolerate it “if any person supports an accused, comments on India’s internal affairs”.
“Each Indian citizen has complete faith in India’s judiciary,” he said, without naming Mamdani or Khalid.. “Who is an outsider to question our democracy and judiciary? And that too in support of someone who wants to break India into pieces? This is not right...”
You’ve read Scroll.
Now help sustain it
Scroll is funded by readers, not corporate owners. If you believe our work matters, support our newsroom. Become a member today!
We’re not driven by clicks or corporate interests – just honest, independent reporting. Keep us going. Support Scroll today!