Delhi High Court Grants Student Activist Sharjeel Imam Bail In Sedition Case (image-X/Gabbar0099)
On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court granted bail to student activist and JNU scholar Sharjeel Imam, who was arrested under UAPA and sedition for allegedly making inflammatory speeches during the 2020 Delhi riots case.
A bench of justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain granted Imam bail after hearing the activist’s counsel and the Delhi Police.
In February, Imam challenged the trial court’s order, which had denied him bail, and argued that he had already spent more than half of the maximum sentence he can be given for the offence under Section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) of the UAPA, which is seven years in the case of a conviction.
On February 17, the trial court, while refusing bail after hearing the prosecution’s arguments, stated that Imam’s custody could be extended further in “exceptional circumstances.” The Delhi court had said that Imam”s complaint against the CAA did not contain any advice for people to take weapons or attack. But the Imam’s speech and activities mobilised the public, disrupting the national capital, which could be a reason for the outbreak of the riots.
The JNU scholar was arrested in January 2020 after he made anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) speeches at Jamia Milia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University on December 13, 2019. Although he was booked for sedition in the case registered by Delhi Police’s Special Branch, Section 13 of the UAPA was invoked later. The research scholar has remained in custody since January 28, 2020.
A case of sedition was filed against him for allegedly calling to cut off the Northeast from the rest of the country. Cases against Imam were registered in five states: Manipur, Delhi, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, and Arunachal Pradesh. The IIT alumnus was allegedly one of the organisers of the Shaheen Bagh protests against the CAA and the National Register for Citizens (NRC) laws.
He”s been accused in several cases to the Delhi communal riots, including one of being involved in an alleged conspiracy behind the violence. The student activist is in judicial custody for the “larger conspiracy” case.
Meanwhile, on May 28, the Delhi Court rejected the second bail plea by former JNU student leader and activist Umar Khalid, who was arrested in 2020 under the UAPA. Khalid has also been accused of a “larger conspiracy” of planning protests across 23 locations which allegedly led to communal riots.
