NEW DELHI: A city court on Saturday refused to grant statutory bail to PhD scholar and student activist Sharjeel Imam, in a sedition case against him in relation to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots case.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma court pronounced the order on Saturday, denying any relief to the JNU scholar.
The case under the anti-terror law UAPA, was filed against Imam for allegedly making inflammatory speeches in Jamia area in Delhi and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), during the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizenship (NRC) in 2020.
As per the contention of Imam, he has already spent four years out of the maximum sentence of seven years in prison citing his eligibility for statutory bail.
Section 13 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), a stringent anti-terror law, provides for imprisonment that may extend up to seven years.
The petitioner argued that he has undergone more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence and is entitled to bail under the provision.
According to Section 436-A CrPC, a person can be released from custody if he has spent more than half of the maximum sentence prescribed for the offence.
During the hearing, the Public Prosecutor argued that punishment for the offences is calculated consecutively and not concurrently. Bail is not mandatory under Section 436 and the gravity of the offence must be considered, he argued.
The High Court, on January 30, had directed the trial court to decide expeditiously in the bail plea of Imam in the sedition and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) case.
His plea against the order framing sedition and UAPA charges against him in the case will come up on March 8 before the Delhi High Court.
Imam was arrested in the case on January 28, 2020.
In 2022, the trial court had framed charges against Imam under Sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity), l53B (Imputations prejudicial to national integration), 505 (Statements conducing to public mischief) of IPC and Section 13 (Punishment for Unlawful Activities) of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.