New Delhi, Aug. 15 -- About 100 journalists, writers, filmmakers, actors, and academics shot an open letter to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), Surya Kant, to free Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have been in prolonged incarceration under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, in connection with the 2020 Delhi riots violence.

Come this September, the former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student activists will complete six years in jail without a trial.

The open letter refers to CJI Kant's statements made during a recent lecture he delivered in Sweden.

In 2021, Kant was a part of a three-member bench hearing KA Najeeb vs Union of India case, where he categorically stated that under Article 21 of the Constitution, prolon...