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Activist Sharjeel Imam has approached the Delhi High Court to challenge the recent order issued by the Saket Court, which ordered the framing of charges against him in connection with the 2019 Anti-CAA protest case.
In its order, the trial court remarked that Imam was not only an instigator but also a key figure in a larger conspiracy to provoke violence. The protests had escalated into violence, with allegations of burning buses, assaulting public servants, and damaging property by an unlawful assembly. Justice Sanjeev Narula's bench has issued a notice on the plea and scheduled the next hearing for April 24. Advocates Talib Mustafa and Ahmad Ibrahim represented Sharjeel Imam, submitting that along with the plea, Imam had also filed an application seeking an interim stay on the impugned order. However, the Court clarified that it would not grant a stay at this stage and would first await the prosecution's response. Additionally, the Court issued a notice on Imam's application seeking a stay of the order. The trial court, in its order, called Imam not only an instigator but also a key conspirator in a larger plot to incite violence. Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh observed that being a senior Ph.D. student, Imam craftily avoided explicitly targeting communities other than Muslims but indirectly incited his audience, which primarily included members of the Muslim community, to disrupt societal functioning. The court also remarked that a "chakka jaam" in a densely populated city like Delhi could lead to severe consequences, including endangering lives by obstructing emergency services. Charges under numerous sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), such as promoting enmity, abetment, criminal conspiracy, assault, damage to public property, and others, have been framed against Imam, along with co-accused Ashu Khan, Chandan Kumar, and Asif Iqbal Tanha. Nine additional accused have also been charged under similar provisions. However, the court has discharged several other accused individuals while reserving charges against proclaimed offenders, pending their appearance. The charge of sedition under Section 124A IPC has been kept in abeyance due to a Supreme Court directive from May 11, 2022. The court took serious note of allegations that Imam delivered inflammatory speeches in various locations, distributed provocative leaflets, and instigated gatherings leading to violence and traffic disruptions in protest of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). His speech, according to the Special Public Prosecutor, incited hatred and encouraged widespread violence, which the court deemed as calculated and venomous, pitting one religion against another. Imam's counsel argued in defence, claiming that he neither participated in the unlawful assembly nor incited violent activities. They maintained that his speech did not promote enmity or disharmony, making the invocation of Section 153A IPC inappropriate. (ANI)
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