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Synopsis

The Karkardooma Court today rejected the interim bail plea filed by Sharjeel Imam in the case registered against him for allegedly delivering provocative speeches at Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Milia Islamia in 2019-2020 during the anti- CAA/NRC protests.

Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat denied relief to Imam who had moved court seeking interim bail on account of the Supreme Court order which had put all cases of sedition on abeyance.

In January this year, a Delhi Court had found sufficient grounds to proceed against Imam for offences in the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1949 (UAPA) and sedition in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) under Sections 124­A, 153­A, 153­B, 505 IPC & Section 13 UAPA.

The Karkardooma Court had found 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 Court had further noted that in view of "positive assertions" made by Sharjeel Imam with respect to the strength of demography of Muslims in his speeches while pitching one community against ideals of the state, as if to say that their co-existence is an anathema, there exists "sufficient material to proceed against him".

Karkardooma Court had also succinctly broke down 4 of Imam's speeches and had said that the content in the speeches "at least on a prima facie level", brings to the core, the fundamental thinking, ideas, and intent of the accused.

In October, the Saket Court, Delhi had rejected bail for accused Sharjeel Imam saying that a cursory reading of the transcription of Sharjeel's speech delivered at Jamia Milia Islamia on December 13, 2019 against the Citizenship Amendment Act & NRC implementation was clearly on divisive lines and that just because other co-accused have been granted bail, Imam could not claim parity with them.