A Delhi court on Monday dismissed the bail plea of former JNU student Sharjeel Imam in a case related to alleged inflammatory speeches given by him at Aligarh Muslim University and in the Jamia area during the anti-CAA agitation in 2019 and 2020.
The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat on a plea filed by Imam, through Advocate Tanveer Ahmed Mir.
ASJ Rawat also framed charges against Imam in the matter under IPC sections pertaining to sedition, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, etc., imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration, statements conducing to public mischief, apart from section 13 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The FIR in the case was lodged in 2020 while the section under UAPA was added later.
During the course of the hearing, Imam’s lawyer had argued that merely being critical of the government in power cannot be a cause of sedition and that the submissions made by the prosecution were “rhetoric”. The lawyer said that there was no call for violence made by Imam.
The prosecution, however, submitted that Imam had made “seditious speeches” through which he challenged the sovereignty of India and tried to imbibe a sense of hopelessness and insecurity among Muslims. Imam is also accused of being part of a larger conspiracy behind the north-east Delhi riots.
