No Justifiable Reason to Deny Bail to Sharjeel Imam in Sedition Case: Delhi High Court - 2024-06-11

No Justifiable Reason to Deny Bail to Sharjeel Imam in Sedition Case: Delhi High Court

In a significant ruling, the Delhi High Court has granted bail to student activist Sharjeel Imam in a sedition case, stating that the trial court was 'swayed by the enormity of the allegations' and that there was 'no justifiable reason' to deny him bail.

Imam had approached the High Court against a trial court order denying him bail in the sedition case. He argued that he had already spent four years in jail out of the maximum sentence of seven years and is, therefore, eligible for statutory bail. He also pointed out that the offence of sedition has been kept in abeyance by the Supreme Court of India and that the UAPA provisions invoked against him do not carry more than a seven-year sentence.

The High Court, in its order passed on May 29, agreed with Imam 's arguments and directed that he be released on bail on terms and conditions to be imposed by the trial court.

The trial court had earlier denied Imam bail on February 17, holding that his speeches and activities against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) did not contain any exhortation to people to pick up weapons or kill people, but they did mobilize the public, which might have been the main reason for the outbreak of the Delhi riots. The trial court had opined that Imam 's speeches were so powerful that they captured the imagination of people belonging to a particular community and incited them to take part in disruptive activities, resulting in riots.

However, the High Court observed that the mere fact of the allegations being serious cannot be a ground to decline bail under Section 436-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). The court asserted that CrPC Section 436-A is a 'benevolent provision' enacted with the idea that no undertrial prisoner be detained in jail beyond half of the maximum sentence provided for such offences, unless there are rational and logical reasons to direct otherwise.

'In the case in hand, we do not find any justifiable reason which could have compelled the court from not granting the relief,' the High Court said in its order.

The High Court also rejected the Delhi Police's argument that the delay in the proceedings was solely attributable to Imam , as it was at his instance that the trial was stayed in 2022. The court asserted that any accused who chooses to avail legal remedy cannot be blamed for causing delay, and in the present case, the stay order was given on the basis of joint statements of the parties and was not further challenged by the state.

Imam , however, continues to remain in jail as he is also an accused in the larger conspiracy case connected to the 2020 Delhi riots. His bail plea in that case is still pending before the High Court.