'Sharjeel Imam did not incite violence' says Allahabad HC; granting bail after 14 months

In its order granting bail to JNU student Sharjeel Imam, the Allahabad High Court noted that he did not call anyone to bear arms and that his speeches did not incite violence. HC judge Saumitra Dayal Singh granted bail to Imam after 14 months of incarceration. As Imam has also been charged with 'criminal conspiracy' for allegedly planning the Delhi riots', under the UAPA act, he still remains in Tihar jail.

HC maintains 'Imam did not incite violence'

The HC stated, "He neither called anyone to bear arms nor any violence was incited as a result of the speech delivered by him. The exact effect prompted by his words or gestures may remain to be examined at the trial which is yet to commence. He has remained confined for more than one year and two months against a maximum punishment that he may suffer on conviction being three years. For that reason alone the applicant has become entitled to bail".

Four FIRs were registered against Imam under Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race etc), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), and 505(2) (statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of IPC. Previously, a Delhi court had refused to give him bail as he faced sedition charges in the Delhi riots case. Imam has already gotten bail in cases filed in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Why was Sharjeel Imam arrested?

On January 25, 2020 a video emerged of Sharjeel Imam 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. Then only they will listen to us." Imam had addressed a gathering outside Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh. mam - a key organizer of the Shaheen Bagh protests was arrested on January 28 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.

Moreover, Delhi police have filed a 17,000-page charge sheet and a 1000-page charge sheet naming Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam, Faizan Khan, Danish, Parvez, Ilyas,  'United Against Hate' chief Khalid Saifi, Congress ex-councillor Ishrat Jahan, Tahir Hussain, RJD youth wing’s Meeran Haider, Pinjda Tod activists Gulfisha Fatima, Safoora Zargar, Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita as accused of 'criminal conspiracy' - leading to Delhi riots which killed 53 in February 2020. Delhi police have named Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and Faizan Khan as the main accused for allegedly planning the riots to 'distract attention from Donald Trump's visit', under the UAPA act. The above-mentioned accused have been charged under several sections of  Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and several sections of IPC including - rioting, murder, criminal conspiracy which has a maximum sentence of the death penalty.