No, Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam Have Not Been in Custody for 'Nearly Six Years' — But the Real Numbers Are Still Alarming

The claim circulating online says Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam have both been held for 'nearly six years' under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and Indian Penal Code provisions. The core concern is legitimate — both men have spent years behind bars without a completed trial — but the six-year figure is an exaggeration that misrepresents the actual timeline.

The dates are well-documented. Sharjeel Imam was arrested on January 28, 2020, initially on sedition charges related to speeches he gave about blocking roads in Assam, with UAPA charges added later, according to the Indian Express. That puts him at roughly five years in custody as of early 2025. Umar Khalid was arrested on September 13, 2020, in connection with the Delhi riots conspiracy case, as reported by The Hindu. His detention stands at approximately four and a half years — not six.

Amnesty International, in a September 2023 report, explicitly noted that Khalid had spent three years in jail without trial at that point, which independently confirms the 2020 arrest date. Court records reviewed by Bar and Bench also place his custody start in September 2020, and show that multiple bail applications have been denied under UAPA's strict bail provisions.

To be fair to those sharing this claim: the underlying civil liberties concern is entirely valid. UAPA allows detention for extended periods without bail, and both cases have drawn sustained criticism from human rights organizations for the slow pace of proceedings. The problem isn't the concern — it's the inflated number, which makes the claim easier to dismiss and muddies an otherwise well-supported argument.

This kind of small factual drift is worth catching precisely because it hands critics an easy rebuttal. When the timeline is off by a year or more, it distracts from the documented reality: two people have spent between four and five years in pre-trial detention. That fact stands on its own and doesn't need embellishment.