India, Sept. 2 -- The Delhi High Court has once again refused bail to nine anti-CAA activists - Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Athar Khan, Khalid Saifi, Mohd Saleem Khan, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Meeran Haider, Gulfisha Fatima, and Shadab Ahmed - who have been behind bars since 2020 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Five years. No trial. No bail. This is not the language of justice; it is the language of slow erasure.Each hearing follows the same choreography: petitions filed, arguments stretched, judgments reserved, and bail denied. Courts insist that the "trial will progress at its natural pace." But what is "natural" about half a decade of incarceration without even the first steps of trial? When does delay itself become the crime?...