Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court’s decision to deny bail to his son, Umar Khalid, in the 2020 Delhi riots case. He criticized the court for categorizing the accused into two groups despite all being involved in the same case. Ilyas questioned the rationale behind segregating the accused for bail, especially when the police did not differentiate in their case.
The Supreme Court refused bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the Delhi 2020 riots case but granted conditional bail to five others. The court stated that Umar and Sharjeel had a higher level of involvement in the conspiracy. Ilyas defended Umar Khalid, stating there is no evidence against him and that he was not present in Delhi during the riots nor made any provocative statements.
Ilyas highlighted that Umar protested against the Citizenship Amendment Bill and NRC, emphasizing his right to dissent in a democracy. He also mentioned the slogans raised against top officials at JNU, clarifying that they were protesting the denial of bail to Umar and Sharjeel. Ilyas criticized the trend of booking protestors for expressing dissent.
