Activist Sharjeel Imam denied bail in case related to allegedly inflammatory anti-CAA speech

A Delhi court on Friday denied bail to activist Sharjeel Imam in a case related to his allegedly inflammatory speech at Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University in December 2019, reported Bar and Bench.

Imam had been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in April 2020 for his speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia as well as the Aligarh Muslim University in Uttar Pradesh. Three months later, the police had charged him with sedition. He is currently lodged in Tihar Jail.

The Delhi Police had said that Imam was arrested in connection with violence at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13 and 15, 2019. The police had accused him for “instigating and abetting the Jamia riots, due to his seditious speech on December 13”.

Violence had erupted in the area around Jamia Millia Islamia during a protest march against the Citizenship Amendment Act by the University’s students.

The Delhi police were accused of using excessive force to quell the demonstrations and of storming the campus. The police had claimed their action was justified as the protestors had allegedly injured their officers and set buses on fire.

At Friday’s hearing, Additional Sessions Judge Anuj Agarwal said that Imam’s speech at Jamia Jamia Millia Islamia needed “deeper analysis” to consider if it was seditious. However, the judge said…

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