The Delhi High Court today ordered a trial court to decide and pronounce its judgement in an application filed by Sharjeel Imam seeking statutory bail for having undergone one half of the maximum seven years punishment in a UAPA and sedition case by February 17.
The matter relates to the alleged inflammatory speeches made by him in Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia area in Delhi against the Citizenship Amendment Act. Sharjeel Imam was booked under FIR 22 of 2020 registered by Delhi Police’s Special Branch. Initially, the case was lodged for the offence of sedition, Section 13 of UAPA was invoked later.
On Tuesday, a division bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain disposed of Imam’s plea seeking statutory bail in the case by mentioning that his application is already pending adjudication before the trial court.
Consecutively, the bench ordered the trial court to decide on the application within 10 days from the next date of hearing on February 07. The bench added that in case Imam is denied bail, then he has the right to file a fresh appeal on the ground mentioned in his appeal along with any other grounds.
Meanwhile, Imam’s lawyer informed the court that the next date of hearing before trial court is February 12, the latest order sheet of trial court shows it to be February 07. Advocate Talib Mustafa appeared for Sharjeel Imam and SPP Ashish Dutta appeared for the State.
Sharjheel Imam had moved the application before the trial court in August last year. The application was reserved by ASJ Amitabh Rawat of Karkardooma Courts in September 2023. Nonetheless, the judge was transferred later and another judge presided over who is dealing with the application now.
The application notes that Imam is ready to furnish reliable surety to the satisfaction of the court and also to abide by the conditions or restrictions imposed on him, in case of his release.
In June 2023, Imam had approached the Delhi High Court challenging proceedings against him in two different cases for the same speech delivered at Jamia Millia Islamia University in December 2019. The matter is pending adjudication.