[BREAKING] Sharjeel Imam denied bail in Delhi Riots case

A Delhi Court on Monday denied bail to former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam in a case registered against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Delhi Riots of the 2020..The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat..Advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir had argued the bail application on behalf of Imam, contending that the act of conspiracy as alleged by the prosecution did not arise as his arrest had happened prior to the violence that took place.“Arrest is prior, riots are later. I reiterate, arrest if prior, riots are later,” insisted Mir..Mir asked if a conspiracy could continue if a person had been arrested and if Imam could be indicted for something that occurred post arrest.“We can't have a situation where conspiracies become endless, suits a government case. Law of conspiracies by State has to be within boundaries, can't be endless,” he added.Arguing further, he said,“What act of mine post my arrest is being called into play for larger conspiracy, to cause murder of who?...even at this stage of bail, if this kind of conspiracy is sustained, we will be turning law of conspiracy on its head.”Imam’s counsel also highlighted that his client's calls for chakka jam (blockading roads) during his speeches at various places were being labelled as calls for violence..Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, however, submitted,“Arrest of Sharjeel Imam is not for conspiracy but for seditious speech prior to his arrest. So to say arrest is for conspiracy is a misdirected argument.”The prosecutor also said if a conspiracy was detected and investigative agencies were able to prevent riots from happening, even then it would be conspiracy.“Therefore, what is being argued is not in line with factual positioning of this case,” said Prasad..The Court had also framed charges of sedition, promoting enmity between groups, statements meant for public mischief, and unlawful activities in a separate case against Imam concerning his speeches.His speeches and the act of distributing pamphlets in Delhi and elsewhere were stated to have purportedly “promoted or attempted to promote, on grounds of religion, a feeling of enmity, hatred and ill-will between two communities i.e. Hindus and Muslims or act which was prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony between the said two communities and which was likely to disturb public tranquility”.These speeches were delivered by Imam at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and Jamia Milia Islamia in Delhi during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC)..[Delhi Riots] Delhi court orders framing of Sedition, UAPA charges against Sharjeel Imam.Last month, the Delhi High Court had issued notice in Imam's plea against this order. It was argued on behalf of Imam that the trial court had failed to read speeches and pamphlets in their right perspective and entirety. Therefore, it wrongly concluded that they were communal in nature and spread dissatisfaction against the government, promoted enmity between groups and challenged the territorial integrity of India.Earlier, the Court had denied bail to Umar Khalid but had granted bail to Congress councillor Ishrat Jahan..[Read Order]