Delhi High Court grants statutory bail to Sharjeel Imam in 2020 riots case involving sedition charges

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots case involving allegations of sedition, PTI reported on May 29.

A Division Bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain granted statutory bail to Imam, Bar and Bench reported. 

He had challenged the February 17 trial court order, which denied him bail.

Imam had argued at the trial court that he had already been in custody for the last four years. The maximum sentence for the offence under Section 13 of the UAPA is seven years if convicted.

As per Section 436-A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), a person can be released from custody if they have served more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence.

Imam will remain in jail despite this bail, as his bail petition in the police's larger conspiracy case in the Delhi riots is pending before the HC, B&B added.

The Case Against Imam
According to the prosecution, Imam allegedly delivered speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia on 13 December 2019 and at Aligarh Muslim University on 16 December 2019, where he threatened to sever Assam and the rest of the North East from India, according to a report in PTI.

The Delhi Police's Special Branch booked Imam initially for sedition. Later, Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) was added. He has been in custody since January 28, 2020.

He was imprisoned by the Delhi Police in 2020 under sedition charges and a UAPA case for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in Jamia Jamia Millia Islamia and at Aligarh Muslim University.

(With inputs from PTI)