Sharjeel Imam Granted Bail: Delhi Court Grants Major Relief To Indian Student Activist In 2020 Riots Case

The Delhi High Court granted bail to Sharjeel Imam in the sedition and UAPA case for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in Delhi's Jamia area and Aligarh Muslim University.A division bench comprising Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain allowed Imam's bail plea. He had challenged the trial court order denying him statutory bail in the case. Imam had sought bail on the ground of having undergone one half of the maximum seven years punishment.

Advocates Talib Mustafa and Ahmed Ibrahim appeared for Imam. SPP Rajat Nair represented the Delhi Police. On February 17, the trial court dismissed his plea observing that his speeches and activities “mobilised the public” which disrupted the national capital and might be the main reason for the outbreak of the 2020 riots. Imam was booked under FIR 22 of 2020 registered by Delhi Police's Special Branch. While the case was initially registered for the offence of sedition, Section 13 of UAPA was invoked later. He has been custody in the case since January 28, 2020. “Although the applicant did not ask anybody to pick the weapons and kill the people, his speeches and activities mobilised the public which disrupted the city and might be the main reason in the outbreak of the riots. 

Further, through inflammatory speeches and social media, the applicant skillfully manipulated the real facts and incited the public in order to create havoc in the city,” the trial court had said. The court had framed charges against Imam in the FIR in January last year. He has been charged for the offences under Section 124A (sedition), 153A(Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc.), 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC along with Section 13 (Punishment for unlawful activities) of the UAPA. In June last year, Imam had moved the Delhi High Court challenging proceedings against him in two different cases for the same speech delivered at Jamia Millia Islamia University in December 2019. The matter is pending adjudication.