New Delhi: More than 100 activists, writers, filmmakers, journalists and academics have written to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant as “concerned citizens of India”, urging intervention over the prolonged incarceration of student activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. Both have been in custody for nearly six years without trial under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in connection with the 2020 Delhi violence.“It is dissent that breathes democracy into a republic. As long as such laws continue to deny liberty and justice of those who practice dissent, we will only be doing disservice to the principles of democracy,” the letter said.The open letter has been signed by prominent figures including Arundhati Roy, Amitav Ghosh, Ramachandra Guha, Prakash Raj, Rana Ayyub and Swara Bhasker. They refer to remarks made by CJI Kant during a recent lecture he delivered in Sweden on the Supreme Court’s 2021 judgment in Union of India v. KA Najeeb.In the Najeeb case, a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court held that prolonged incarceration without a reasonable prospect of the trial being completed could justify bail even under stringent laws such as the UAPA. The court held that such detention could infringe an accused person’s fundamental right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.“You were one of the judges on that landmark 3-judge bench ruling,” the letter said, referring to the Najeeb judgment.Also read: Supreme Court Criticises Denial of Bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel ImamThe signatories said the principles set out in Najeeb should be considered in the cases of Khalid and Imam as well. Nearly six years after their arrests, their trial has not begun, while the prosecution has listed around 900 witnesses. Their bail applications have been rejected by different courts, including by a two-judge Supreme Court bench in January 2026 in the Gulfisha Fatima v. State case.“Their trial hasn’t even begun till date. But despite that, their bail applications have been repeatedly rejected by different courts, including a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court in January 2026,” the letter states.The letter also noted that the Gulfisha judgement was subsequently criticised by another Supreme Court bench in its May 18, 2026 judgment in Syed Iftikhar Andrabi v. National Investigation Agency. Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan said that the January ruling had erred not only in denying bail but also in preventing the accused from applying for bail for another year.The judges further held that since the three-judge bench had already laid down the relevant law in Najeeb, judicial discipline required the two-judge bench to follow that precedent.Also read: Pause the Celebration: Bail Under UAPA Is Still Not a RightThe signatories urged the CJI to intervene, arguing that prolonged pre-trial detention can undermine constitutional protections and render a subsequent acquittal meaningless because the years spent in custody cannot be restored. They also invoked the Supreme Court’s repeatedly stated principle that bail is the rule and jail an exception.“We urge your intervention to reverse this travesty of justice unfolding before our eyes,” the authors wrote, arguing that such judicial indifference will hollow out “constitutional principles of fair trial as well as the principle that bail is the rule, and jail an exception, that has been underlined repeatedly by the SC.”The signatories also include filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, economist Jayati Ghosh, author and peace activist Harsh Mander, political economist and author Parakala Prabhakar, social scientist and historian Partha Chatterjee, feminist historian J. Devika, journalist Pamela Philipose, human rights activist Sunita Visvanath, and filmmaker Tanuja Chandra.The letter said that continued denial of liberty under stringent laws to dissenters would undermine democratic and constitutional principles.The full list of all 110 signatories is below:Arundhati Roy, authorAmitav Ghosh, Padma Shri and Jnanpith Award-winning author; Erasmus Prize winner; Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesPrakash Raj, actor, producer and directorRamachandra Guha, historian and writerAnand Patwardhan, filmmakerManoj Kumar Jha, Member of Parliament and professor, University of DelhiRaja Ram Singh, Member of Parliament from Karakat, Bihar; CPI(ML) LiberationAruna Roy, socio-political and Right to Information activist; Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS)Yogendra Yadav, national convenor, Bharat Jodo AbhiyaanRana Ayyub, journalist and columnist, The Washington PostVarun Grover, writer and directorSwara Bhasker, award-winning actor, author and activist for constitutional principles and human rightsRajmohan Gandhi, author, retired professor and former Rajya Sabha MPJayati Ghosh, economist and professorGurmehar Kaur, author and activistHarsh Mander, author and peace activistParakala Prabhakar, political economist and authorPartha Chatterjee, social scientist and historianJignesh Mevani, social activist and MLA from Vadgam constituency, GujaratZoya Hasan, professor emerita, Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityMeena Kandasamy, writerNivedita Menon, retired professor, Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityTanika Sarkar, retired professor of Modern History, Centre for Historical Studies, JNU; visiting professor, Ashoka UniversityUma Chakravarti, retired teacher and historianNandini Sundar, professor, University of DelhiApoorvanand, teacher and academicMukul Kesavan, writerGitha Hariharan, writerSyeda Hameed, writer and activistPratik Sinha, co-founder and editor, Alt NewsNeha Dixit, independent journalistSushant Singh, actorTanuja Chandra, film writer and directorN. Manu Chakravarthy, professor of English, literary and cultural critic, and film criticShuddhabrata Sengupta, artist and writerJ. Devika, feminist historian, KeralaAyesha Kidwai, professor, Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityFarah Naqvi, writer and activistSaibal Chatterjee, film critic, journalist, writer and festival programmerNakul Singh Sawhney, filmmakerVinta Nanda, filmmaker, editor of The Daily Eye, and executive director of WIFF MumbaiNandini Rao, feminist activistPushpendra Singh, filmmaker and alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India, PuneGitanjali Rao, animation filmmakerGazal Dhaliwal, writerHussain Haidry, writerDarab Farooqui, screenwriterAnjali Monteiro, documentary filmmaker and academicChitra Joshi, independent historianNadeem Khan, Association for Protection of Civil RightsAamir Aziz, poetLalita Ramdas, peace, human rights, communal harmony and secular values activistSunita Viswanath, human rights activist and co-founder of Hindus for Human RightsSusan Visvanathan, academicRadha Kumar, writerPamela Philipose, New Delhi-based journalistAmmu Abraham, women’s rights activistMadhuri Date, journalistGhazala Jamil, assistant professor, Jawaharlal Nehru UniversityAditi Mehta, retired IAS officerApurba Kumar Baruah, retired professor, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong; president, Sustha Samaj Bikash Chakra, Guwahati; mentor, Bharat Jodo AbhiyanAnu Singh, filmmaker and authorAnirban Bhattacharya, researcher and writerJayasree Subramanian, academicianKiran Bhatty, researcherRadhika Desai, independent feminist researcher and consultant on gender and social developmentMariette Correa, independent researcherManorama Sharma, retired professor of History, North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong; based in Guwahati, AssamMaimoona Mollah, women’s rights activistManjushree Abhinav, animal rights activistShilpa Parthan, researcher and educatorRoshmi Goswami, feminist human rights defenderSeema Azad, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL)Sagari R. Ramdas, veterinary scientistVanita Mukherjee, feminist activist and social advocate for ALIFA, All India Feminist Alliance, and the National Coalition for Women’s ReservationSharanya Nayak, solidarity worker with Indigenous peoples’ movements against mining and fortress conservation projects in southern OdishaNikhil Dey, Mazdoor Kisan Shakti SangathanMuralidharan Vishwathan, general secretary, National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD)Joe Athialy, Centre for Financial AccountabilityArundhati Ghosh, independent consultantDr Ravi Shukla, technologist, educator and researcherJohnson Thomas, film critic, journalist and social workerRonny Sen, filmmakerVikrant Pawar, filmmakerSumit Roy, writer and filmmakerPrateek Vats, writer-directorSabika Abbas, poetNusrat F. Jafri, cinematographer and writerRitash, neuroqueer writer and co-founder, RANG FoundationVarna Sri Raman, development economistArunesh Maiyar, LGBTQI activistNeeladri Bhattacharya, historian and academicSabita Lahkar, independent journalist based in Guwahati, AssamRajshri, citizenP.E. Usha, activist from TrivandrumMumtaz Beegum TL, citizenNikhat Hegde, counsellorKalpana, citizenKavita Sarin, concerned citizen of IndiaPooja, concerned citizenSapna, freelancerSalim Saboowala, social activistGourav, concerned about the ConstitutionChristian Fernandes, citizen committed to constitutional principlesVidur Nauriyal, Indian citizenVedi Sinha, writer, singer and storytellerV. Gadgil, retiredBhanutej N., freelance writerB.S. Krupakar, writerAbhilash Durugkar, development professional