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The Delhi High Court on Tuesday ordered a trial court here to decide by next month a plea by student activist Sharjeel Imam seeking bail in connection with a 2020 communal riots case involving allegations of sedition and unlawful activities.
Mr. Imam has sought bail on the grounds that he has been in custody for the past four years and the maximum sentence for the offence under Section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act is seven years. He said he has undergone more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence and is entitled to bail under the provision.
According to Section 436-A CrPC (Code of Criminal Procedure), a person can be released from custody if he has spent more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence.
During the hearing, Mr. Imam’s counsel informed the court that there are a total of 43 prosecution witnesses in the case, out of which 22 have been examined till now.
In 2022, the trial court had framed charges against the student leader under Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity), l53B (imputations prejudicial to national integration), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of IPC and Section 13 (Punishment for Unlawful Activities) of the UAPA.
As per the prosecution, Mr. Imam had made speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia University on December 13, 2019, and at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 16, 2019, where he allegedly threatened to cut off Assam and the rest of the North East from the country.
Mr. Imam was booked by Delhi Police’s Special Branch. While the case was initially registered for the offence of sedition, Section 13 of UAPA was invoked later. He has been in custody in the case since January 28, 2020.
