NEW DELHI: JNU student Sharjeel Imam, who was arrested in a case related to alleged inflammatory speeches made by him during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2019, has approached the Delhi High Court seeking interim bail, citing the Supreme Court’s order to keep in abeyance proceedings in all sedition cases in the country.
A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Rajnish Bhatnagar is likely to hear the plea on Tuesday. The application said that the trial court’s order, rejecting his bail, is primarily based on the premise that the special court had no power to grant bail under Section 437, CrPC in view of the limitations imposed therein, once the court had by separate order, sought it fit to frame sedition charges against Imam.
“In view of the Supreme Court’s directions, the hindrance raised by the special court in the impugned order stands obviated, and observations surrounding the offence under section 124-A (sedition) IPC cannot be taken into consideration in the proceedings against the appellant pending the final outcome of the constitutional challenges to the section,” it read.