New Delhi: A court here on Monday granted 10-day interim bail to activist Sharjeel Imam, an accused in the 2020 Delhi riots case, for attending his brother’s wedding.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai was hearing the interim bail application filed by Imam, seeking relief for six weeks to attend the marriage scheduled this month.
In an order, the court granted interim bail from March 20 to 30.
Imam is an accused in the case about the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi that left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured.
The violence erupted during the widespread protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
The two were arrested under Section 15A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after being accused of instigating the riots in Delhi in 2020. Both Khalid and Imam were denied bail by the Supreme Court earlier this year, on January 5, but five others were granted bail, namely Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed.
The top court cited “hierarchy of participation” as the reason for this and said that their continued jail time was not necessary for a fair trial.
Shortly afterwards, Imam’s lawyers said he had withdrawn from the anti-CAA protests in Delhi before the Delhi Assembly elections, fearing the peaceful agitation was turning violent. His counsel told the court that even the prosecution claims Imam had left the protests by January, weeks before the February 2020 riots.
The defence also argued there is no call record or evidence of meetings linking Imam with Umar Khalid, and that he was not part of WhatsApp groups allegedly used to coordinate road blockades. Instead, he had created a separate group of Jamia students for peaceful demonstrations
The top court cited “hierarchy of participation” as the reason for this and said that their continued jail time was not necessary for a fair trial.
Imam is among 17 accused in the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots, which left 53 people dead and hundreds injured. Eleven accused are currently out on bail (excluding Imam), and the case is at the stage of arguments on framing of charges, with 17 of the 18 accused having completed their submissions.
