USCIRF Sharjeel Imam post: India’s US envoy says panel has ‘no locus standi’ on citizens’ rights
The US panel's post called Sharjeel Imam a Muslim man detained for his religious freedom advocacy, and the envoy told it to stop lecturing others.
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India’s ambassador to the United States, Vinay Mohan Kwatra, on Saturday criticised the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and said the panel has “no locus standi” to judge the constitutional rights of Indian citizens, ANI reported. The USCIRF Sharjeel Imam row began after the commission shared the jailed activist’s profile on X.
Vinay Mohan Kwatra’s reply
Kwatra answered in a post on X. “USCRIF has no locus standi to sit in judgment over the constitutional rights of Indian citizens,” he wrote, as quoted by Asianet Newsable. He called the commission’s assessments “habitual partisan, ill-informed, and jaundiced” and wrote that “India flourishes defying the agenda-driven partisan narratives of the USCIRF.”
His post closed with a line aimed at the panel: “introspect on your own prejudices and stop lecturing others.”
USCIRF Sharjeel Imam post: what the commission wrote
USCIRF shared Imam’s profile on X and described him as “a Muslim man detained in India for his religious freedom advocacy,” according to Asianet Newsable. ANI said the post tied his detention to his religious freedom advocacy, which prompted Kwatra’s response. Neither report quotes the commission any further.
Key numbers
- January 2020: when authorities arrested Imam over speeches during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, per ANI.
- August 2020: when he was charged in FIR 59/2020, which concerns the alleged larger conspiracy behind the February 2020 North-East Delhi riots, per ANI.
- 4 to 10 October: the dates of his interim bail to attend a cousin’s wedding functions, per Asianet Newsable.
- 10 October: the day a Karkardooma court declined to cancel that bail, per Asianet Newsable.
Sharjeel Imam case: the background
Imam is a former student activist. Authorities accuse him of speeches that allegedly incited communal violence during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act in December 2019 and January 2020. The charges in FIR 59/2020 include provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Delhi Police Special Cell is investigating the alleged conspiracy, ANI reported.
His interim bail came with conditions: no social media, no media interaction, and no meetings except with family, relatives and friends. Police alleged he breached them by being in a room where a journalist was interviewing his brother. His counsel denied any direct interaction with the journalist.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai examined the prosecution’s video footage on 10 October. He declined to cancel the bail after noting that Imam had boarded a flight to Delhi and would surrender that evening. Our report on Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng’s visa claim covers another row over foreign scrutiny of India this week.
What happens next
The reports do not say whether the commission will reply to Kwatra, or whether the Ministry of External Affairs will add its own comment on the USCIRF Sharjeel Imam exchange. They give no new court date in the case.
The exchange shows how India answers foreign criticism of cases tied to the 2020 Delhi riots, a subject that keeps returning in India-US ties. Whether the ministry or the commission says more will show if the row grows beyond one post on X.