Delhi Court Grants Bail To Sharjeel Imam In Sedition Case, Will Remain In Custody In Other Cases

A case against him was filed in 2019 at the New Friends Colony Police Station, and that is the basis for the bail he received. Later in the day, a thorough order will be made accessible.

Former JNU student and activist Sharjeel Imam. ( Image Source :PTI )

In relation to a 2019 sedition case, a Delhi Court on Friday granted bail to former JNU student and activist Sharjeel Imam. He won't be released on bond, though, because he has other active cases, news agency IANS reported.

A case against him was filed in 2019 at the New Friends Colony Police Station, and that is the basis for the bail he received. Later in the day, a thorough order will be made accessible.

Imam, who is in judicial detention on many accusations, including sedition, was denied temporary release on July 23 by Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat of Karkardooma court.

After withdrawing his appeal for interim release from the Delhi High Court since the prosecution raised the maintainability problem, the former JNU student went before the lower court.

Imam had initially turned to the high court for remedy after the landmark Supreme Court decision that suspended the colonial-era sedition criminal statute (Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code).

Imam said in his bail plea that since the apex court placed sedition on hold, the situation had improved enough for release to be granted.

"The appellant has been incarcerated for nearly 28 months since January 28, 2020 whereas the maximum punishment for the offences -- not including 124-A IPC -- are punishable for up to a maximum of seven years imprisonment," the plea was quoted by IANS in its report.

Imam and Umar Khalid, two JNU scholars and activists, are among the roughly a dozen persons who, according to the Delhi Police, are allegedly involved in a bigger plot connected to the Delhi riots of 2020.

According to the authorities, Imam and Khalid are being charged with making inciting remarks that reportedly stoked the conflict.

When protests against and in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) became violent in February 2020, rioting broke out in the nation's capital. Over 700 individuals were hurt in addition to over 50 people losing their lives as a result of the mayhem.

(With Inputs From IANS)