New Delhi, June 6: A Delhi court on Monday reserved the order on the interim bail plea moved by Sharjeel Imam, in connection with a sedition case linked to the alleged inflammatory speeches delivered by him.
Imam, who has been in judicial custody since January 28, 2020, was seeking relief in the sedition case came following the historic Supreme Court verdict that put on hold the colonial-era penal provision of sedition (Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code).
As per the case, the alleged inflammatory speeches were made in Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019, and in Aligarh Muslim University on January 16, 2020.
Earlier, the Additional Sessions Judge had sought the response of the Delhi Police on the bail plea on the sedition case slapped against the former JNU scholar.
In his fresh bail application, Imam had said that since the top court has put sedition in abeyance, his case has improved for the grant of bail.
“The appellant has been incarcerated for nearly 28 months since January 28, 2020 whereas the maximum punishment for the offences — not including 124-A IPC– are punishable up to a maximum of 7 years of imprisonment,” his plea read.
JNU scholars and activists Imam and Umar Khalid are among the nearly a dozen people involved in the alleged larger conspiracy case linked with the 2020 Delhi riots, as per the Delhi Police. Imam and Khalid are facing charges in connection with the inflammatory speeches which are allegedly fuelled the violence, as per the police.
The riots broke out in the national capital in February 2020 as clashes between the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and pro-CAA protesters took a violent turn. The mayhem, which coincided with the then US President Donald Trump’s maiden trip to India, saw more than 50 people lose their lives while over 700 were injured.
IANS