The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant bail to Sharjeel Imam, a student activst accused of inciting the Delhi riots which took place in February 2020. He has been booked in a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). However, the top court directed the Delhi High Court to expeditiously hear his bail plea regarding the matter.
A bench of Justices S C Sharma and Bela M Trivedi stated that it was not inclined to entertain Imam's plea, which also sought bail under Article 32 of the Constitution.
His counsel, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, said before the bench that the bail plea had been pending in the court since 2022, clarifying that he was not pressing for bail at present. Dave also said that the hearing regarding the matter had been postponed multiple times in the last two years.
The top court said that it was not right to leave the matter that was filed in the High Court as pending and instead file it directly in the Supreme Court.
The bench also noted that the high court would be hearing the case on November 25, asking Imam's counsel to request the Hugh Court for a speedy hearing on the next date.
"This being the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the constitution, we are not inclined to entertain the same. However, petitioner shall be at liberty to request the high court to hear the bail application as expeditiously as possible preferably on November 25, as fixed by the high court. The high court shall consider the said request," the bench held.
Sharjeel Imam and several others were booked under the stringent provisions of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code as they were suspected to be the "masterminds" of the "larger conspiracy" behind the February 2020 riots in North-East Delhi, which claimed the lives of 53 people and left more than 700 others injured. The riots began after the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Delhi turned violent as clashes ensued.