Delhi court reserves order on Sharjeel Imam's bail plea in connection with UAPA case

On Tuesday, Delhi's Karkardooma court reserved its order on the bail petition of JNU student Sharjeel Imam in a UAPA case registered by the Delhi Police. While he was initially charged under Articles 124A (sedition), 153A and 505 of the Indian Penal Code, Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was invoked at a later stage. As per this section, anyone who advocates, abets, advises, or incites the commission of any unlawful activity, may face up to 7 years in prison if convicted of the offence. 

The prosecution alleged that the accused made a provocative speech on December 13, 2019, which was shared on social media. Earlier on October 22, Additional Sessions Judge Anuj Agrawal denied bail to Imam in connection with another FIR filed by the Delhi Police pertaining to the same speech. Refusing to grant him relief on the basis of the sedition charge, he stressed that the fundamental right of freedom of speech and expression cannot be exercised at the cost of communal peace and harmony.

Sharjeel Imam's controversial remarks

Sharjeel Imam was a key organizer of the Shaheen Bagh protests. His controversial remarks came to light on January 25, 2020, when BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra shared a video that featured him. In the video purportedly from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, he said that 5 lakh people can come together and permanently cut the North-East from India. Moreover, he stressed that this was the only way in which the Indian government would pay heed to the concerns of the protesters. 

In the video, Imam is heard saying, "If we have 5 lakh organized people then we can permanently cut north-east from India or at least for one month. Put so much (unclear) on the road that they cannot even remove it for a month. It is our responsibility to isolate Assam from India, then only they will listen to us."  

Imam was arrested from Bihar's Jehanabad district on January 28, 2020, after the police accused him of being involved in the violence that took place in Jamia on December 15, 2019, during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Charges under Section 153A, 124A, and 505 of the Indian Penal Code were slapped against him. Subsequently, he was charged under the stringent UAPA. On July 10, 2020, a single bench of the Delhi High Court of Justice V Kameswar Rao rejected Sharjeel Imam's plea for default bail.