A Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam in a case of alleged violence at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019 in protest against the amended citizenship law.
Imam will, however, remain in jail as he is accused in three other cases related to violence in Delhi.
The FIR under which he was granted bail involves offenses such as rioting, conspiracy, attempt to commit culpable homicide, voluntarily obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions, and assault.
Chief metropolitan magistrate Dinesh Kumar granted him bail on furnishing ₹25,000 bonds, with a surety of like amount.
“Considering the nature of the offense, and the fact that he was not arrested during the investigation, the [bail] application is allowed,” the judge ordered.
In October, the court denied Imam bail for allegedly delivering an inflammatory speech and inciting violence during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in 2019, saying free speech cannot be exercised at the cost of communal peace and harmony.
Besides this case, Imam is also accused of being the “mastermind” of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. He has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act or UAPA.
He was also arrested in another case under UAPA and sedition for his alleged speeches at two universities in 2019, where he allegedly threatened to cut off Assam and the rest of the northeast from India.
