[BREAKING] Delhi High Court overturns discharge of Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar in Jamia violence case

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday partially set aside an order discharging Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar, Asif Iqbal Tanha and eight others in a case related to the violence that took place at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019..Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said in her order,"While there is no denial of the right to freedom of expression, this Court remains aware of its duty and has tried to decide the issue in that way. Right to peaceful assembly is subject to restriction. Damage to property and peace is not protected.".The Court partially reversed the trial court order and framed charges against nine of the eleven accused including Imam, Tanha and Zargar for various offences including rioting and unlawful assembly.Imam, Zargar, Mohd Qasim, Mahmood Anwar, Shahzar Raza, Umair Ahmed, Mohd Bilal Nadeem and Chanda Yadav were charged under charged under Sections 143, 147, 149, 186, 353, 427 of the Indian Penal Code, as well as sections of the Prevention of Damage to Public Properties Act.Accused Mohd Shoaib and Mohd Abuzar were charged under Section 143 IPC, and discharged from all other offences.Tanha was discharged of Sections 308, 323, 341 and 435 IPC. Charges were framed against him under other sections..The present case relates to the violence that took place in and around Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019 after some students and locals announced that they would walk towards Parliament to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).However, the protests soon took a violent turn, and as the police used force to quell them, some of the protesting students allegedly entered the University.In total, Delhi Police made 12 people accused in the case. Several sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) including rioting and unlawful assembly were invoked against them..In an order pronounced on February 4, the trial court had not only discharged 11 of the 12 accused in the case, but also heavily criticised the Delhi Police for filing an "ill-conceived" chargesheet.The court said that that the Police had failed to nab the actual perpetrators and had roped in Imam, Tanha, Zargar and others as "scapegoats". "Marshalling the facts as brought forth from a perusal of the chargesheet and three supplementary chargesheets, this Court cannot but arrive at the conclusion that the police were unable to apprehend the actual perpetrators behind commission of the offence, but surely managed to rope the persons herein as scapegoats."Apart from Imam, Tanha and Zargar, the others who have been discharged are Mohammed Abuzar, Umair Ahmad, Mohammed Shoaib, Mahmood Anwar, Mohammed Qasim, Mohammed Bilal Nadeem, Shahzar Raza Khan and Chanda Yadav. Charges were framed against one Mohammed Ilyas..The Delhi Police challenged the order before the High Court. When the matter came up on February 13, Justice Sharma ordered that the remarks made in the verdict will have no impact on the ongoing investigation or proceedings against the accused.The judge, however, refused to pass an interim direction to expunge the remarks as prayed for by the Delhi Police..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.