The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought police response on a plea by Sharjeel Imam, a JNU student arrested for making inflammatory speeches and inciting violence during the CAA-NRC protests in 2019. Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar issued notice to the prosecution. and asked them to file a reply to the bail plea, listing the matter for further hearing on February 11 next year.
Imam, represented through senior advocate Sanjay R Hegde, challenged the October 22 order of a lower court by which his bail plea was rejected. The prosecution was represented through Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad.
Imam submitted that all the co-accused, who were arrested for allegedly committing violence, have been granted bail in the case and are still in prison for more than 20 months. The trial court had refused him bail saying that the freedom of expression cannot be used at the cost of communal peace and harmony.
According to the prosecution, on December 13, 2019, Imam had allegedly made a provocative speech, resulting in riots two days later when a mob of over 3,000 people attacked police personnel and several in south Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area. Vehicles set on fire. The trial court had observed that the evidence in support of the allegations that the rioters were incited by Imam’s speech and that the subsequent acts of rioting, mischief, attacking the police party were scant and sketchy.
However, it had said that a cursory and plain reading of the speech showed that it was clearly on communal lines. The trial court had observed that the tone and tone of incendiary speech has a bad effect on the peace, tranquility and harmony of the society, it is of no use to say that freedom of speech and expression cannot be a fundamental right. It is exercised at the cost of communal peace and harmony of the society.
The Delhi Police had claimed that Imam instigated a particular religious community against the central government by creating unfounded fear in their minds over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). In addition to this case, Imam is also accused of being the “mastermind” of the February 2020 riots, in which 53 people were killed and over 700 were injured. A case has been registered against him under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
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