Delhi court rejects JNU scholar Sharjeel Imam’s bail plea

 

 

The Delhi Court today, while dismissing Imam's bail plea, quoted Swami Vivekananda - "We are what our thoughts have made us; so take care about what you think; Words are secondary; Thoughts live; they travel far." Imam was arrested for allegedly giving a seditious speech that resulted in violence during the anti-CAA protests in New Friends Colony in December 2019. However, the court said the evidence in support of the allegations that rioters got instigated by Imam’s speech to indulge in rioting, attacking police, etc, at several places were “scanty and sketchy”. The prosecution claimed that Imam had delivered provocative speeches on December 13 and 15, 2019 and January 16, 2020.“Assam aur India katke alag ho jaaye, tabhi ye humari baat sunenge (Only once India and Assam are cut off from each other will they listen to us),” he can be heard as saying in the video. Imam is accused of offenses relating to sedition, promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, imputations prejudicial to national integration, and public mischief under the Indian Penal Code, and indulging in unlawful activities under the UAPA.