Delhi Court releases Sharjeel Imam on bail in UAPA, sedition case.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court made a decision on Wednesday that granted Sharjeel Imam, who was charged with Unlawful Activities Act and sedition, statutory bail. This case was based on his alleged inflammatory speeches at Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia area, where he spoke against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
However, despite the bail being granted, Imam will still remain in jail due to his involvement in the larger conspiracy case concerning the 2020 Delhi riots. This case also includes charges under the Unlawful Activities Act.
The Division Bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain considered Imam's bail plea and overruled the decision of the trial court, which had previously denied him statutory bail. Imam was represented by Advocates Talib Mustafa and Ahmad Ibrahim, who argued for bail based on the fact that he had already served more than half of the maximum seven-year punishment. Mustafa stated that Imam had completed four years and seven months of incarceration out of the potential seven-year sentence.
However, Special Public Prosecutor Rajat Nair, representing the Delhi Police, opposed the plea, stating that Imam had not met the requirement of serving half the sentence. Nair pointed out that Imam's case fell under the Explanation to Section 436A of the Criminal Procedure Code, which made him ineligible for statutory bail. Nair also mentioned that the trial was stayed at Imam's request in 2022, resulting in his prolonged pre-trial detention.
Despite these objections, the court granted bail to Imam, taking into consideration various key dates, such as the date of framing of charges and the examination of witnesses.
Sharjeel Imam was arrested for his speeches that were deemed to have incited violence and unrest during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. He was also accused in a case related to the alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots and had previously urged the High Court to grant him bail. However, the trial court had denied bail to him in April 2022, after his arrest in August 2020 in connection with the case. Imam has been in custody since January 2020, facing multiple FIRs related to the violence.
IANS

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