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Sharjeel Imam was taken into custody in January 2020 after he allegedly delivered several provocative speeches that were accused of inciting violence during anti-CAA demonstrations in Delhi and other states.
The Delhi High Court, on Thursday, issued a notice in a petition filed by Sharjeel Imam challenging an order issued by the trial court dated March 7, 2025. The trial court opined that the speech delivered by Sharjeel near Jamia Millia Islamia, ‘pitted one religion against another'. The bench of Justice Sanjeev Narula, however, orally remarked that “I’m not staying any order”.
The trial court had directed the framing of charges under Section 109 (abetment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) read with Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups), along with offences pertaining to unlawful assembly, rioting, assault on public servants, attempt to commit culpable homicide, and provisions under the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act (PDPP).
In his revised petition, Imam argued that the trial court failed to establish a prima facie case under IPC Section 153A and did not present any evidence linking his speech on December 13, 2019, to the violence that erupted on December 15, 2019. He was arrested in this case on February 17, 2021, and sought an ad-interim stay on the trial court’s order.
Imam further contended that he was not present at the location of the alleged violence, citing call detail records that indicated his presence at Shaheen Bagh at the time rather than at Jamia Millia Islamia.
In a separate plea, Imam sought the quashing of the supplementary chargesheet filed against him in connection with the same FIR. He argued that multiple proceedings could not be initiated for the same incident or offence against the same individual.
The prosecution is expected to submit its response by April 24, when the court will consider both of Imam’s pleas together.
Background:
These cases against Imam were filed under the anti-terror law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against Imam for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in the Jamia area in Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizenship (NRC) in 2020.
Notably, two speeches delivered by Sharjeel Imam in December 2019 were included in the charge sheet. The first address was delivered in Delhi on December 13, 2019, and the second one was delivered in Aligarh on December 16. His remarks allegedly incited violence on December 15, 2019, during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) in Jamia Nagar, Delhi, according to the police.
In September 2024, the Delhi High Court rejected the early hearing petition filed by Sharjeel Imam for his pending bail petition maintaining that the bail plea would be heard on the already scheduled date.
Imam's bail plea has challenged the order, dated 11 February 2022, wherein the Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma court had previously denied any relief to the JNU student stating that Imam's speeches intended to create 'public disorder' and 'incitement to violence' and also appeared to challenge the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.
The Supreme Court, recently, refused to entertain an Article 32 petition, noting that Imam could not have moved such a petition before the top court while his bail plea was pending before the Delhi High Court.
Case Title: Sharjeel Imam v State (CRL.REV.P.-108/2025)[Inputs: The Indian Express]
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