By Nupur Thapliyal
A Delhi Court on Thursday granted bail to Sharjeel Imam in a case concerning the violence in Jamia Milia Islamia University on the 13th and 14th of December, 2019.
Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dinesh Kumar granted bail to Sharjeel considering the fact that he was not arrested in the matter during investigation.
“Considering the nature of offence, and the fact that he was not arrested during investigation, the application is allowed,” the Judge said.
The FIR involves offences of rioting and unlawful assembly, specifically sec. 143, 147, 148, 149, 186, 353, 332, 333, 308, 427, 435, 323, 341, 120B and 34 of IPC. The Court granted bail to him subject to him furnishing a bail bond in the sum of Rs. 25,000/ with one surety of like amount.
Recently, another city Court had denied him bail in a 2019 case alleging that he delivered provocative speeches which led to Delhi Riots at various places observing that the tone and tenor of the incendiary speech tend to have a debilitating effect upon public tranquility, peace and harmony of the society.
Though the Court observed that the evidence against Imam was “scanty and sketchy” to take a prima facie view that his speeches incited riots, it denied him bail noting that further examination was needed to ascertain if the speech amounted to the offence of sedition under Section 124A IPC and promotion of communal disharmony under Section 153A IPC. Recently, the Delhi High Court issued notice on Sharjeel’s bail plea in the aforesaid FIR.
In another development, another city Court had reserved order on the bail plea moved by Sharjeel Imam in relation to the allegedly inflammatory speeches made by him in Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia area in Delhi against the Citizenship Amendment Act. (FIR 22/2020 registered by the Delhi Police under Sections 124A, 153A, 505 of the IPC along with Section 13 of the UAPA).
Importantly, the Allahabad High Court last month granted bail to Sharjeel in a sedition case registered against him in Aligarh for allegedly delivering an ‘anti-national speech’ at AMU [Aligarh Muslim Univeristy] during Anti CAA-NRC protests. The Court noted that neither he called anyone to bear arms nor any violence was incited as a result of the speech delivered by him.
He is also one among the several activists who are made accused in the UAPA case registered by the Delhi police over “larger conspiracy” behind the Delhi Riots of 2020.
This story first appeared on livelaw.in
