Delhi court discharges Sharjeel Imam, Asif Tanha in 2019 Jamia violence case

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Feb 04, 2023: A Delhi court has discharged Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam and student activist Asif Iqbal Tanha in the December 2019 Jamia violence case. However, Imam will continue to remain in jail for now as he is facing a probe under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the conspiracy case related to the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots.

 

The order was pronounced by the Saket court bench of Additional Sessions Judge Arul Varma. During the hearing, the Saket court had accepted the argument of Imam’s lawyer where he said, “He only campaigned in favour of a means of peaceful protest and not violence."

Last year, the trial court had ordered the framing of 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.

Imam was accused of making inflammatory speeches during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) in 2019 that triggered violence.

As per the prosecution, Imam had allegedly made speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019, and at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 16, 2019, where he threatened to cut off Assam and the rest of the Northeast from India.

Courtesy: India Today