New Delhi [India], December 12 : The Delhi High Court on Thursday heard arguments in the bail plea of Sharjeel Imam, who is one of the accused in the larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots. His counsel argued that Sharjeel Imam never incited the people to violence, nor was he involved in any violence or overt acts.
A division bench of justices Navin Chawla and Shalinder Kaur, after hearing the arguments, listed the matter for hearing submissions by the Delhi Police counsel on December 20.
The High Court has scheduled the matter for hearing arguments on the merits of Shadab Ahmed's case on January 14, 2025.
Sharjeel Imam's counsel, Advocates Talib Mustafa and Ahmad Ibrahim concluded their arguments while seeking bail on the grounds of parity with other accused individuals.
It was argued that Sharjeel never encouraged violence. He only called the people for 'Chakka Jaam' (roadblock) against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) during his speeches, the counsel argued.
Advocate Talib Mustafa further argued that Sharjeel Imam has never incited the people to violence. He only called the people to protest peacefully against the CAA. He always cautioned the people that political parties may cause violence in the protest.
The counsel also emphasised that the basis for Imam's indictment is a speech he delivered at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019, which led to five cases being registered against him for speeches made by him in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Bihar in 2019 and 2020, the counsel argued.
It was also argued that the Delhi Police Crime Branch had registered a case in 2020 for the speech given in December 2019 and he had been granted bail in that case.
The counsel for the accused further argued that the police investigation was based upon the chats recovered by the crime branch in the Jamia speech case.
Sharjeel Imam was arrested in August 2020, while he was already in custody in a crime branch case after his arrest on January 28, his counsel added.
It was also argued that the accused has been in custody for more than four years.