The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it was mulling to club the multiple FIRs lodged against student activist Sharjeel Imam in various states over the same speech related to the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.
The Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjiv Khanna and Justice PV Sanjay Kumar said that in order to avoid multiplicity of proceedings for the same offence, trial in states, such as Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, other than Delhi, could be stayed.
Appearing for Imam, Senior Advocate Siddhartha Dave submitted that he could not be dragged across India for one speech.
Noting that there could not be multiple prosecutions for the same offence, Dave sought urgent hearing of Imam’s plea before summer vacations.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju argued that offences in the petitions were different as mob instigation happened in different places.
The Bench remarked that since Imam was booked for the same speech, the impact would be the same. The speech was available on YouTube and could be heard across India, it added.
Stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act were invoked against Sharjeel and others over the larger conspiracy case leading to riots in Northeast Delhi.
Imam is also facing cases in Assam, Manipur, Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh. In Delhi, he faces a total of three cases where sedition is a charge, including the larger conspiracy case.
In 2020, the JNU scholar moved the Supreme Court, stating that since all the FIRs pertained to the same speech, only one FIR should remain.
After ASG Raju said he could cited verdicts to show that offences in the case against Imam were different, the Alex Court granted him time to file submissions and adjourned the matter for two weeks.