2019 Jamia Violence Case: No Relief For Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar And 7 Others. 2 Acquitted

The High Court framed charges against 9 people including Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar, and Asif Iqbal Tanha under under IPC while two were acquitted.

2019 Jamia violence case

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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday charged 9 out of 11 accused in 2019 Jamia violence including Sharjeel Imam and Safoora Zargar. The High Court's judgment came on a plea moved by the Delhi Police, challenging a trial court's order discharging Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam and student activists Asif Iqbal Tanha and Safoora Zargar in the 2019 Jamia Nagar violence case.

Overturning the trial court's order, the High Court framed charges against 9 people — Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Mohd Qasim, Mahmood Anwar, Shazar Raza, Umair Ahmed, Mohd Bilal Nadeem, and Chanda Yadav — under Indian Penal Code Sections 143, 147, 149, 186, 353, 427 relating to rioting, unlawful assembly, obstructing public servants.

Two accused, Mohd Abuzar and Mohammad Shoaib were acquitted by the court. 

Pronouncing the judgment, Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma noted "prima facie it is clear that other people including Sharjeel were present in the crowd. They were not only raising slogans against Delhi Police, but were also trying to violently remove the barricade."

Citing the right to freedom of expression/demonstration, breach of peace or damage to public property cannot be allowed, it added. 

The case pertains to the violence that erupted after a clash between the Delhi Police and those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act in Delhi's Jamia Nagar area in Decemeber 2019. 

On February 4, a trial court discharged 11 people from the case while holding that they were made "scapegoats" by the police and that dissent has to be encouraged, not stifled.

The police, in its revision petition, said the trial court's order is in the teeth of well-settled principles of law, suffers from grave infirmities that go to the root of the matter and is perverse.

The plea of the police also said the trial court not only discharged the accused persons, but was also swayed by "emotional" and "sentimental feelings". It cast aspersions on the prosecuting agency and passed "gravely prejudicial" and "adverse" remarks against the prosecuting agency and the investigation, the police said.

(With inputs from ANI)