2020 Delhi Riots Case: Sharjeel Imam, Man Who 'Wanted to Cut Off' Assam From India, Gets Bail

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Sharjeel Imam in the case of charges of sedition and violations of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Imam was accused of delivering inflammatory speeches in Delhi's Jamia Millia Islamia area and at Aligarh Muslim University  (AMU), where he threatened to cut off Assam and the rest of the North East from the country.  

Sharjeel's Imam Speeches Incite Hatred, Contempt

In July 2020, the Delhi Police filed a charge sheet against Sharjeel Imam, alleging that his speeches incited hatred, contempt, and disaffection towards the Central government, which led to the violence near Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019. 

Imam, United Against Hate founder Khalid Saifi and several others, including Umar Khalid, were booked under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots in North-East Delhi which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. 

The violence erupted during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). Imam has been in custody since January 2020 in several FIRs in connection with the violence. 

Sharjeel Imam had challenged a February 17 trial court order that denied him bail, citing that his anti-CAA speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia and Aligarh Muslim University could be considered "seditious" based on their "dictionary meaning." 

Imam argued for statutory bail, noting he had been in custody for four years, while the maximum sentence under UAPA Section 13 is seven years. According to Section 436-A of the CrPC, a person can be released from custody if they have served more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence.