Sharjeel Imam granted bail by Allahabad High Court in sedition case; to remain in jail

In a key development on Saturday, the Allahabad High Court granted bail to JNU student Sharjeel Imam in a case registered by the Uttar Pradesh police. This was pertaining to his alleged provocative speech on December 13, 2019, which was shared on social media. In Aligarh, the police had registered an FIR against him under IPC Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity grounds of religion, race), 153B (making statements provoking breach of peace) and 505(2) (statements made which are alarming, false intention to create disharmony). 

While he has got bail in cases filed in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, the activist was denied bail by Additional Sessions Judge Anuj Agrawal on October 22 in connection with an FIR filed by the Delhi Police pertaining to the same speech. On November 2, the Karkardooma court reserved its order on the bail petition of the JNU student in a UAPA case registered by the Delhi Police. At present, Imam is languishing in Tihar jail and is also facing charges in the Delhi riots conspiracy case.

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". He 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.