By Betwa Sharma
New Delhi: “As far as the Constitution is concerned, we have to use it fully. Constitutionality and the Constitution are two different things. Remember, Constitutionality means that we will not burn property. We will not hit people. But we can disrupt.”
“… except for self-defence, we do not have to attack anyone or raise weapons.”
“…whatever we do, we will do before the camera. We are not doing anything wrong, so we don’t have to be scared of the camera.”
“…how will we make 1000 Shaheen Baghs? When 100 courageous young men sit in front and say come and beat us, beat us however you like, but we will not move from here. We do not have to pick stones, we do have to pick up lathis, we do not have to shoot a bullet. All we have to do is sadak jam (block roads) and close all the highways.”
“…I’m not saying this road, whichever road you find appropriate, the road where there will be no fighting… what is the area that is safe and secure for us.”
These are some passages from Sharjeel Imam’s speeches that his lawyer Talib Mustafa read out while arguing for bail in the Delhi High Court on 12 December 2020, explaining that his client had called for chakka jams (blocking roads) to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), 2019, but he had also called for there to be no violence.
This was the third time that Imam, 35, completed full arguments before the Delhi High Court, where his bail plea in the so-called “larger conspiracy case” of the Delhi riots has been pending for two years and nine months. This violates the Supreme Court’s repeated orders for all courts to dispose of bail matters quickly, preferably within two weeks of filing, because they have profound implications on the right to life and liberty (Article 21).
This story was originally published in article-14.com. Read the full story here.
