Delhi court rejects bail to Sharjeel Imam in 2019 Jamia rioting case

The court noted that evidence in support of the allegations that the rioters got instigated by Sharjeel Imam's speech and thereafter indulged in the acts of rioting, mischief, attacking the police party, was scanty and sketchy.

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday denied bail to JNU student Sharjeel Imam in connection with allegedly giving an inflammatory speech and inciting violence in 2019, saying that the speech was on communal lines and its content "tend to have a debilitating effect on the peace and harmony."

According to police, Imam allegedly delivered a provocative speech on December 13, 2019, which resulted in riots two days later when a mob consisting of over 3,000 people attacked police personnel and torched several vehicles in the Jamia Nagar area.

Denying bail to him, Additional Sessions Judge Anuj Agrawal said that cursory and plain reading of the speech showed that it was clearly on communal lines.