A month after New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani sent a note to Umar Khalid, the student leader accused in 2020 north-east Delhi riots, India Friday said it expects “public representatives to be respectful of the independence of judiciary in other democracies”.
Responding to questions, Ministry of External Affairs’ official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We expect public representatives to be respectful of the independence of judiciary in other democracies. Expressing personal prejudices do not behove those in office. Instead of such comments, it would be better to focus on the responsibilities entrusted to them.”
In a hand-written note to Khalid, currently behind bars in relation to his alleged involvement in criminal cases related to the 2020 riots, Mamdani had said he often thinks about the former JNU Students’ Union leader’s thoughts on bitterness.
Addressed “Dear Umar”, the note delivered to Khalid’s parents during their visit to the US in December 2025, was made public last week – the day India-origin Mamdani was sworn in as the New York mayor.
A picture of the note shared on X, formerly Twitter, by Khalid’s partner Banojyotsna Lahiri read: “I think of your words on bitterness often, and the importance of not letting it consume one’s self. It was a pleasure to meet your parents. We are all thinking of you.”
Khalid’s father Syed Qasim Rasool Ilyas had said, “We had met Mr Mamdani on December 9 … We had earlier (in 2023) listened to him read out a letter from Umar’s diary and we wished to meet him. He was kind enough to give us 25 minutes of his time. At the end of the meeting, he said he’d like to share a letter with Umar and wrote a few lines before we left.”
He said, “When Umar came back home for a few days to attend his sister’s wedding, we showed that letter to him.”
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The Supreme Court Monday denied bail to Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case, while granting relief to five other accused — Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed.
The bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria, in its ruling, created a framework of differentiated roles of the alleged conspirators, distinguishing the “architects” of the conspiracy and its “facilitators”.
The SC held that in an alleged conspiracy of this magnitude, the “ideological drivers” cannot claim parity with those accused of merely executing orders on the ground.
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