No stay on trial in sedition case, Delhi HC tells Sharjeel Imam

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday told Sharjeel Imam -- an accused in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots case -- that it has not stayed the trial proceedings in the sedition case linked to his alleged inflammatory speeches at Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia area against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

"There is no stay, the trial would obviously proceed. If the trial court comes to a conclusion that enough material exists, it will proceed to frame charges," clarified the Bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri when Imam's counsel pointed out that the trial court had proceeded to frame charges against his client.

The Delhi High Court was hearing Imam's plea seeking quashing of sedition and hate speech charges against him under Sections 124A and 153A of the now-repealed Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The matter was deferred after an adjournment was sought on behalf of Delhi Police.

Last week, the Supreme Court had refused to entertain a plea filed by Sharjeel Imam seeking bail in an alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.

It said that Imam, accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), should not have moved a writ petition directly before the apex court when his bail plea is pending adjudication before the Delhi High Court. However, the top court asked the Delhi High Court to hear Imam's bail plea on the date fixed and decide it expeditiously.

In his appeal filed before the Delhi HC, the former Jawaharlal Nehru University student and activist has challenged the trial court order, which had previously denied him bail, following his arrest in August 2020 in connection with the case. He has been in custody since January 2020, facing multiple FIRs related to the violence.

According to the police, Imam made the alleged inflammatory speeches in Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi on December 13, 2019, and in Aligarh Muslim University, Uttar Pradesh on January 16, 2020.

JNU scholars and activists Imam and Umar Khalid are among the nearly dozen people reportedly involved in the alleged larger conspiracy linked to the Delhi riots of 2020, as per the Delhi Police. Imam and Khalid are facing charges in connection with making inflammatory speeches which allegedly fuelled the violence, as per the police.

The riots broke out in the national capital in February 2020 as clashes between the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and pro-CAA protesters took a violent turn. The mayhem saw more than 50 people lose their lives, besides leaving over 700 people injured.

The Delhi High Court, on May 29, granted statutory bail to Sharjeel Imam in a sedition case. However, he continued to remain in jail due to his involvement in the larger conspiracy case.