HC to hear Sharjeel Imam’s bail plea on Jul 9

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court would on July 9 hear the bail plea of activist Sharjeel Imam in a February 2020 riots case.

A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur was scheduled to hear the plea on Tuesday, but it adjourned the matter after the prosecution sought time.

The accused’s counsel had previously informed the court that Imam was “completely disconnected” with the place, time and co-accused persons, including Umar Khalid.

His speeches and WhatsApp chats never called for any unrest, he had argued.

The bail plea claimed that the accused 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.

As a result, Imam did not part take in any of the “conspiratorial” meetings with others, it claimed.

Khalid, Imam and several others were booked under stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and IPC provisions for allegedly being the “masterminds” of the February 2020 riots, which had left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. The violence erupted during the protests against the CAA and NRC.

Imam was arrested in the case on August 25, 2020.