Sharjeel Imam to contest Bihar elections, seeks interim bail

New Delhi: Sharjeel Imam – jailed in the 2020 Delhi riots “larger conspiracy case” and booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) – will contest the Bihar Assembly elections from the Bahadurganj constituency in Kishanganj district.

As an independent candidate, Sharjeel Imam has sought interim bail from October 15 to October 29. He filed the interim bail application before Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Courts, who is presiding over the Delhi riots conspiracy case.

The Supreme Court is already seized of the bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Meeran Haider, and Gulfisha Fatima, and has sought a response from the Delhi Police.

The student activists have been languishing in jail for the last five years.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had denied bail to several leaders in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy behind the Delhi riots.

In its order passed on September 2, a Bench of Justices Shalinder Kaur and Navin Chawla had delivered inflammatory speeches on February 24, 2020, coinciding with the then US President Donald Trump’s state visit, which the prosecution alleged was deliberately timed to trigger riots on February 23-24 and draw international attention.

“The alleged inflammatory and provocative speeches delivered by the appellants, when considered in totality, prima facie indicate their role in the alleged conspiracy,” the Delhi High Court said.

The ECI has announced that the Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases, on November 6 and 11, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 14. Bahadurganj will go to the polls on November 11.

IANS