2020 Delhi riots case: Sharjeel Imam granted bail by Delhi high court

The Delhi High Court granted bail to JNU scholar Sharjeel Imam in connection with the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots case. This case involved allegations of sedition and unlawful activities. The bail was granted by a bench of justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain. However, despite the bail, Sharjeel Imam will remain in jail because he is also an accused in the larger conspiracy case related to the Delhi riots of 2020.

According to the prosecution, Sharjeel Imam allegedly made inflammatory speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019, and at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 16, 2019. In these speeches, he threatened to cut off Assam and the rest of the Northeast from the country.

Legal Proceedings on Delhi riots case:

The Delhi Police’s Special Branch initially charged Imam with sedition, but later invoked Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against him. He has been in custody since January 28, 2020. Sharjeel Imam argued that he had been in custody for the last four years, and the maximum sentence for the offense under Section 13 of the UAPA is 7 years if convicted.

According to Section 436-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), a person can be released from custody if they have spent more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offense.

The trial court had previously refused to grant him bail, ruling that his custody could be extended for a further period in “exceptional circumstances” after hearing the prosecution’s case. Imam is also an accused in several cases arising from the communal riots of 2020, including the case concerning the alleged larger conspiracy behind the violence. He remains in judicial custody in the conspiracy case.

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