From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: Delhi High Court has fixed the hearing of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student leader Sharjeel Imam languishing in jail on Sedition case on May 26. He has sought the bail on the strength of the Supreme Court’s order on May 11 to keep in abeyance proceedings in all sedition countries in the country since the government is examining if the sedition law should be continued.
Since a Bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar did not assemble on Tuesday, the High Court said Imam’s application is listed for hearing the next week on Thursday.
Imam is languishing in Tihar Jails for over two years under Section 124-A IPC (punishment for sedition) that prescribes punishment upto life imprisonment and other charges since his arrested for alleged inflammatory speeches made by him during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Register of Citizens in 2019.
His bail plea says he has been incarcerated for nearly 28 months for various offences. It contends that there is no likelihood of the trial getting over in the near future since there are more than 170 witnesses to be examined and the trial has not even started. The FIR was registered against him on January 25, 2020 in Delhi, simultaneously with four other FIRs acros the multiple states.
The instant FIR was originally registered for the offences punishable under sections 124A (punishment for sedition, 153A (Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), 153B (Imputations, assertions prejudicial to national integration) and 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of the IPC and later section 13 (punishment for unlawful activities) of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) was added.
He is also one of the accused in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. The prosecution has claimed that his speeches incited hatred, contempt, and disaffection towards the Central Government and instigated the people which led to the violence in December 2019.
