BJP MP writes to USCIRF, says Sharjeel in jail for alleged role in Delhi riots, not faith

BJP MP Sujeet Kumar. File. | Photo credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR

BJP MP Sujeet Kumar sent a letter to the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) rejecting the characterization of Imam Sharjeel as being detained for his religious views. He chairs the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice, Personnel and Public Grievances.

In a letter to USCIRF director Asif Mahmood, Mr Kumar said Mr Imam was arrested for his alleged involvement in the 2020 Delhi riots, rather than his faith.

“The Imam is NOT in jail for his faith or for his religious advocacy (both fundamental rights guaranteed to him by the Indian Constitution). He is being held in an alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots in Northeast Delhi that left 53 dead, a case which the Supreme Court of India ruled was not about his views but “a proposed method of civic life and paralysis26.” the same Hon’ble Bench heard requests for release on bail to the seven accused in this case, all of whom were Muslims, and granted bail to five while denying it to Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, finding that the evidence gave them a “central and formative role” Faced with the seven Muslim accused, the Hon’ble Court weighed the evidence against each of them on the basis of his own text, while your commission took nothing as merit from his own text Your commission is very discriminating, what to report, so next year’s annual report should include a chapter on the Commission itself,” Mr. Kumar wrote.

“Were the speeches which the Delhi Sessions Court found, prima facie, tended to incite violence and challenge the ‘territorial integrity of India’, speeches of ‘defence’? If it is a defense of religious freedom, the Commission has invented a new religion and India is not converting,” his letter said.

In its 2026 report, USCIRF designated India as a “Country of Special Concern” (CPC) on the issue of religious freedom and posted about Mr. Imam on its website and X handle.

Published – 15 Nov 2026 18:34 IST