Sedition case: Delhi HC to hear Sharjeel Imam’s plea for bail on Jan 30

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday said that it will hear two separate pleas by one of the prominent face anti-CAA stirs Sharjeel Imam together on January 30. He is seeking regular bail and interim bail in a 2020 riots case involving sedition allegations.

Imam has been facing charges of provoking communal riots in northeast Delhi during the protest against citizenship regime.

A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh, which was hearing Imam’s petition for grant of interim bail pursuant to the Supreme Court direction keeping in abeyance section 124A (sedition) of the IPC, observed the pleas pertained to the same FIR and same issues cannot be agitated multiple times, according to Outlook. “Two of your appeals (against denial of regular bail and interim bail by the trial court) are pending for the same FIR. We will hear them together; you can’t agitate the same issue more than once. It can’t be heard like this,” the court said.

The counsel for Imam informed the Delhi HC that his plea for regular bail was coming up for hearing in April and he has sought interim release until the top court decides the constitutional validity of offence of sedition, reported the magazine. He stressed the point that Imam has been in custody for three years now.

The HC observed the Supreme Court has not ordered the release of those facing sedition charges and, in the present case, Imam has been charged with offences other than sedition as well.  “The end result of both (pleas) is the same. You can’t have it both ways. We have two bail applications before us today. We can’t hear you today and then later (again). We will hear you together. Nowhere has Supreme Court said that you have to be enlarged on bail,” the court said.

The HC court, however, acknowledged that the matter pertained to the personal liberty of the accused. It moved the date of hearing of the regular bail plea from April to January 30 when it will also hear the plea seeking interim bail.

Last year, the trial court had ordered the framing of charges against Imam under Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity), l53B (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.

Delhi Police has received flak for not booking BJP leader Kapil Mishra as an accused in any case. Mishra had allegedly given an inflammatory speech just before the riots broke out.

-INDIA NEWS STREAM