Court rejects bail plea of Sharjeel Imam booked on sedition charges

Imam (36), a JNU scholar, has been accused of making inflammatory and instigating speeches during the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) protests.

He was arrested on January 28, 2020, from Bihar for allegedly making a seditious speech and abetting riots in the Jamia Millia Islamia area in December last year.

Sharjeel had applied for bail, arguing that he had already served four years in prison out of a maximum sentence of seven years, making him eligible for statutory bail.

However, Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai dismissed the bail request, citing the unique nature of the allegations against Sharjeel and his involvement in "disruptive activities which ultimately led to the riots."

In a speech in Hindi, allegedly made at an anti-CAA protest, he purportedly said: "Time has come to tell the non-Muslims if they sympathise with us then they have to stand with us on our terms. If they cannot accept our terms, they are not our symapthisers."

"I have told this before and I am repeating it again that if we have 5 lakh people organised, we can permanently cut off Assam from rest of India, if not permanently then at least for a few months.

"Create ruckus on roads and railway tracks so that it takes them months to clear...it is our responsibility to cut off Assam from India. Only after Assam is seperated from India will they listen to us."

"We all know the condition of Muslims in Assam. CAA, NRC have been implemented there. People are being thrown into detention camps. There is a massacre going on there. In the next six to eight months we may find out all the Bengalis, whether Muslims or Hindus, have been killed," he said.

While rejecting his bail plea, the court said, “Considering the allegations against the applicant and his disruptive activities, the court deems it appropriate not to consider the relief as prayed for and to continue his custody.”

In Sharjeel Imam’s purported speech, which had gone viral, on social media, he said, "If we want to help Assam, we have to block the way for Army to reach Assam and also the supplies. And, we can do this. The chicken-neck corridor that connects the northeast with the rest of India is primarily inhabited by Muslims. Remember, if the masses are angry it should be used purposefully and not wasted on photo sessions,” he said.

In 2022, the trial court had framed charges against Imam under Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity), 153B (imputations prejudicial to national integration), 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of IPC and Section 13 (Punishment for Unlawful Activities) of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.