Congress veteran and former Union minister P. Chidambaram has appealed to the Supreme Court to end the “daily abuse of the law” after a Delhi court freed 11 persons charged with rioting during a protest march against the Citizenship Amendment Act in 2019.

The Delhi court on Saturday held that the 11 students had been made “scapegoats” while the police failed to capture the “actual perpetrators”.

Chidambaram tweeted: “A Delhi trial court has held that Sharjeel Imam and 10 others were made ‘scapegoats’ in a case connected with incidents of violence in Jamia Millia Islamia in 2019. Was there even prima facie evidence against the accused? The Court’s conclusion: unequivocal no. Some accused have been lodged in jail for nearly three years. Some got bail after many months. This is pre-trial incarceration.”

The Cong ress leader added: “An inept police and over-zealous prosecutors are responsible for keeping citizens in jail before trial. What action will be taken against them? Who will give back the months or years that the accused spent in jail? Our criminal justice system that tolerates pre-trial incarceration is an affront to the Constitution of India, especially Articles 19 and 21. The SC must put an end to this daily abuse of the law. The sooner the better. Bless the trial courts that push back against the abuse of the law and uphold liberty.”