A magistrate court in Delhi granted bail to activist Sharjeel Imam on Thursday in a case related to violence at Delhi’s Jamia Millia Islamia University and nearby areas on December 13 and 14, 2019, his counsel Talib Mustafa told Scroll.in.
Imam, however, will remain in jail as he has been accused in three other cases related to violence in Delhi in February 2019.
Communal violence that broke out between the supporters of the Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing the law in North East Delhi between February 23 and February 26 last year. The Delhi Police have claimed that there was a larger conspiracy which led to the violence, in which 53 people, mostly Muslims, were killed.
In the case that came up for hearing on Thursday, Imam had been booked under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including those pertaining to rioting, unlawful assembly and criminal conspiracy.
Violence had broken out in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area on December 13 after those protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, clashed with police.
Imam’s lawyer Mustafa told Scroll.in that the main argument before the court was that Imam was not arrested during investigation of the case.
“He was also only added as an accused in the case after the completion of the investigation in the third chargesheet that was filed in the case more than one year after the first information report had been registered,” the advocate said. “Looking at how he was never needed for investigation, court granted bail.”
On one of the other cases against Imam, in which he has been charged with sedition and under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Mustafa said: “Bail arguments for these are over and it has been one and a half months since the order has been reserved by the Karkardooma court.”
Another FIR lodged against Imam pertains to December 15 violence at Jamia Millia Islamia where police had clashed with the students, and barged into the university campus. The third FIR is being investigated by the Delhi Police Special Cell. In this case, anti-CAA protesters have been accused of hatching a conspiracy to incite violence and riots.
On November 27, Imam was granted bail by the Allahabad High Court in connection with another case filed against him for making an allegedly inflammatory speech at the Aligarh Muslim University in January 2019.
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