Completely disconnected with Umar Khalid: Sharjeel Imam tells Delhi HC

NEW DELHI: Activist Sharjeel Imam, accused in a February 2020 riots case, on Thursday argued in the Delhi High Court that he was “completely disconnected” with the place, time and co-accused, including Umar Khalid.

Imam’s counsel urged a bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur to show “compassion” in deciding his bail plea. His speeches and WhatsApp chats never called for any unrest, the counsel added. “This boy has spent more than five years in continuous custody. He is the (family’s) breadwinner. He has an old ailing mother and no father,” said Imam’s counsel.

The counsel reiterated that he was not even in the capital post January 15, 2020 and was arrested by the police from his hometown in Bihar on January 28, 2020 in a separate case. He contended Imam, as a result, did not part take in any of the “conspiratorial” meetings with others. While the prosecution’s conspiracy case was based on messages exchanged among the accused persons, Imam’s counsel denied chatting with them saying he was not in purported main WhatsApp group where chakka jams (traffic disruptions) were discussed.

Imam’s lawyer argued that the WhatsApp group he was part of contained no incitement to violence, with 40 instances of non-violence outweighing any evidence of aggression. Imam, facing separate sedition charges, distanced himself from the Shaheen Bagh protests. He was arrested in August 2020 over alleged involvement in the 2020 riots. The case will be heard again on May 21.