New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted bail to student activist Sharjeel Imam in a case involving allegations of sedition and unlawful activities for allegedly making inflammatory speeches against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Despite this, Imam will remain in jail due to his involvement in the larger conspiracy case concerning the 2020 Delhi riots, which also involves UAPA (Unlawful Activities [Prevention] Act) charges.
Sharjeel Imam assailed a trial court order refusing to grant him bail even though he has undergone more than half of the maximum sentence that can be awarded to him in case of a conviction. “Appeal is allowed,” a bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain said after hearing the counsel for Sharjeel Imam and the Delhi Police.
The prosecution said that Imam allegedly made speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019, and at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 16, 2019, where he threatened to cut off Assam and the rest of the Northeast from the country. He has been in custody since January 28, 2020, in the matter.
Imam had claimed before the trial court that he has been in custody for the last four years and the maximum sentence for the offense under section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) of the UAPA is seven years if convicted. As per Section 436-A CrPC, a person can be released from custody if he has spent more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offense.
