---

India on Friday said public representatives are expected to respect the independence of the judiciary in other democracies, responding to reports that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote a letter to jailed activist Umar Khalid.

“Expressing personal prejudices does not behove those in office,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at a weekly press briefing.

“Instead of such comments, it would be better to focus on the responsibilities entrusted to them,” he added.

Media reports said Mamdani had written a handwritten letter in December to Khalid, an activist accused in a case linked to the 2020 Delhi violence. According to posts shared by Khalid’s friends on social media on January 1, the letter was handed to Khalid’s parents during a visit to the United States.

In the note, Mamdani said he often thought about Khalid’s writings and ended by saying that people were thinking of him, the posts said.

Khalid, a former student activist at Jawaharlal Nehru University, is among several activists and community leaders charged under anti-terror law or UAPA in connection with an alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 communal riots in the capital. He has been in custody for several years and is yet to face trial.

Earlier this week, Supreme Court denied bail to Khalid and another activist, Sharjeel Imam, but allowed bail pleas of five other accused. The court said Khalid and Imam could renew their bail applications after the examination of protected witnesses or after one year.

Mamdani has previously spoken publicly about Khalid’s detention. In 2023, before being elected mayor of New York, Mamdani read from Khalid’s writings at a public event in New York ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the city, describing Khalid as an activist who had been jailed for more than 1,000 days without trial.

India maintains that matters relating to ongoing legal proceedings are within the exclusive domain of its judiciary.