New Delhi – Human rights activist and anti-CAA campaigner Khalid Saifi, who has spent the past five years in prison under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), has been granted 10 days of interim bail by Delhi’s Karkardooma Court, reported the New Indian Express.
According to his wife Nargis Saifi, the short reprieve was granted on humanitarian grounds following an urgent plea citing the ill health of their younger son, Taha, who has been hospitalised for the past week.
“This interim bail is a small relief in these last five years, but it has only been given because of our son’s health. Our first priority now is our child’s well-being,” Nargis said, adding, “It is only Khalid’s acquittal and subsequent freedom that will bring us genuine happiness.”
Saifi, founder of the United Against Hate collective, was arrested on 26 February 2020 during the Delhi violence and accused of inciting unrest. While police charged him under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Arms Act (1959), and later under FIR 59/2020 of the UAPA, Saifi has consistently maintained that he was targeted for leading peaceful protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), which has been widely criticised for its discriminatory impact on Muslims.
In 2020, 18 people — mostly student leaders and activists including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Meeran Haider, Shifa-Ur-Rehman, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Safoora Zargar, and Gulfisha Fatima — were arrested under the same UAPA case.
On 8 July 2025, the Delhi High Court reserved its decision on the bail pleas of Saifi, Umar Khalid, and five others. These applications, pending since 2022, have been heard by different benches over time.
Saifi was released from Tihar Jail late on 8 August and went straight to meet his ailing son. However, his family remains aware that he will have to return to prison after the 10-day period ends.
