‘No call to arms’: Allahabad high court in Sharjeel Imam bail order | India News – Times of India

PRAYAGRAJ: JNU scholar and activist Sharjeel Imam’s speech did not incite violence and there was no call to bear arms, observed the Allahabad HC while granting bail to him in a sedition case filed against him for delivering an alleged anti-national speech at Aligarh Muslim University during CAA protests held on the campus on January 16, 2020.
While granting bail to Sharjeel, Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh observed, “Without referring to the exact allegation made against the applicant, it may be noted that on an undisputed basis, neither the applicant called any one to bear arms nor any violence was incited as a result of the speech delivered by the applicant. The exact imputations made and the effect prompted by the applicant by words uttered or gestures made, etc., may remain to be examined at the trial which is yet to commence.”
Sharjeel Imam was booked for spreading hatred against the government and Indian Armed Forces, creating enmity and hatred between two communities, and endangering the unity, integrity and sovereignty of the nation.
The court has granted him bail in FIR no-55 of 2020 registered at Civil Lines police station in Aligarh.
However, as per sources, though the bail has been granted by the high court in one case registered by Uttar Pradesh Police against him, Sharjeel Imam would remain in jail as he was also booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with Northeast Delhi riots.