The court has stood for the rights of the common citizen, said Asif Iqbal Tanha after a Delhi court on Saturday discharged him, along with student activists Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar, Chanda Yadav and seven others in the 2019 Jamia Nagar violence case.
The 26-year-old, who earlier spent 13 months in jail after being arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in connection with the north-east Delhi riots in 2020, said their lives “changed completely because of the wrongful incarceration”. Mr. Tanha, along with student activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita, was released on bail in June 2021.
Asserting that the protests at Jamia were peaceful, he said, “Some of those who stood by us too have been falsely implicated. We still stand by them. When [journalist] Siddique Kappan was released [on bail], we realised that there is still hope in the judiciary.”
Sharjeel Imam’s brother Muzzammil Imam said their family is thankful to the judiciary for bringing out the truth. “But our fight for justice continues,” said Mr. Muzzammil.
Expressing gratitude over the court’s order, Mr. Muzzammil said, “Things are changing. Our [family’s] faith in the judiciary is being slowly restored.” Mr. Muzzammil said his brother has eight cases registered against him, and he was able to secure bail in six of them. A former JNU student, Mr. Sharjeel is currently lodged in Tihar jail.
For 24-year-old Chanda Yadav, a Banaras Hindu University student, “the truth always prevails, no matter what”. Talking about the difficulties she had to face because of the case, she said the mental torture is hard to forget. “I had to be present for the court hearing every month, not to forget the financial burden and the mental trauma. But the fight for justice will continue,” said Ms. Yadav, who got bail in the case in October 2021.
