The Delhi Police on Saturday filed a chargesheet against Jawaharlal Nehru University student Sharjeel Imam before a court in New Delhi, accusing him of sedition, in a case related to protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act late in December 2019 and earlier this year, PTI reported. On April 25, the trial court had extended the time granted to the police to file a chargesheet by three months.
“He is accused of delivering seditious speeches and inciting a particular section of community to indulge in unlawful activities, detrimental to sovereignty and integrity of the nation,” the chargesheet said. “In the garb of protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act, he exhorted people of a particular community to block the highways leading to the major cities and resort to ‘Chakka Jam’, thereby disrupting normal life.”
The chargesheet also said that Imam called the Constitution of India a fascist document. The court is likely to hear the case on Monday.
Imam had made an allegedly inflammatory speech at Jamia Millia Islamia in New Delhi on December 13, and another on January 16 at Aligarh Muslim University in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, where he threatened to “cut off” Assam from the rest of India, by occupying the “Muslim-dominated ‘Chicken’s Neck’. Imam is currently lodged in Guwahati Central Jail, and has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
Imam was arrested on January 28 from Bihar’s Jehanabad district. On July 10, the Delhi High Court rejected Imam’s petition challenging the trial court order granting more time to the police to conclude the investigation. The PhD student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Centre for Historical Studies has been charged under the amended Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!