In January, the Delhi High Court had issued directions to the trial court to decide and pronounce judgment by February 17 on an application moved by Sharjeel Imam seeking statutory bail for having undergone one half of the maximum seven years punishment in a UAPA and sedition case.
Imam had prayed in his petition that he is entitled to statutory bail as he has undergone one half of the maximum seven years of punishment prescribed under Section 13 of UAPA.
Imam is charged in a case pertaining to alleged inflammatory speeches made by him in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and in Jamia area in the Delhi against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Cases against him include offence of sedition and Section 13 of UAPA . He has was arrested on January 28, 2020.
A division bench of the high court had disposed plea seeking regular bail in the case as his application seeking statutory bail was already pending before a trial court.
The high court in its order said that "We direct the trial court to decide and pronounce judgment in the said application within 10 days from the next date of hearing (February 07)."
If Imam is denied bail, he will have the right to file a fresh appeal in the high court on the ground mentioned in his appeal along with any other ground.
Imam has been charged under Section 124A (sedition), 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc.), 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC along with Section 13 (Punishment for unlawful activities) of the UAPA.