Kamal Ghorui
JEHANABAD: Sharjeel Imam, an accused in the “larger conspiracy” case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots, returned to his ancestral village Kako after six years to attend the wedding of his younger brother, Muzzammil Imam, and spend time with his ailing mother. He arrived after being granted 10-day interim bail by a Delhi court.Muzzammil Imam is scheduled to get married on March 25.Expressing happiness over the reunion with Sharjeel, he said, “After six years, we’ve had this opportunity that Sharjeel Bhai has come out from Tihar Jail… We thank the court for understanding our concerns and allowing him to come from Delhi to Bihar to spend time with his family. He was released under the very basic restrictions that are imposed on any under-trial prisoner upon bail. He is on parole for eleven days, from the 20th to the 30th.”Further, on being asked about their demands from the government, he said, “What can we demand from the government? Our demands will be from the judiciary. The government is not an authorised body to fulfil our demands. Our fight is against the policies, and the right to make a decision on that is of our courts. We trust our courts. Sooner or later, we will definitely get justice.” Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Court on March 9 granted Sharjeel Imam interim bail from March 20 to March 30, 2026, on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 along with two sureties of the same amount, subject to certain conditions.The court directed that during this period, Imam must not contact any witness or person connected with the case. He has been asked to share his mobile number with the investigating officer, keep it active at all times, and refrain from interacting with the media or using social media. He has also been permitted to meet only family members and remain at his residence or wedding venues.The court further ordered that Imam must surrender before the jail superintendent on the evening of March 30, following which a compliance report will be submitted to the court.Sharjeel, who describes himself as a “political prisoner and student activist”, has remained in continuous judicial custody for nearly six years and has never been released on bail, even temporarily, before today. He was pursuing a PhD at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) at the time of his arrest.Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, and 16 others were arrested in January 2020 under the stringent provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the Delhi riots case.The riots that erupted in northeast Delhi in February 2020 left over 50 people dead and more than 700 injured. According to the Delhi Police, the riots were the result of a “pre-planned and well-designed” conspiracy in the background of protests against the then-proposed Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC).
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Earlier in January, the Supreme Court granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd. Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad.However, it denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, observing that the two stood on a “qualitatively different footing” in terms of both prosecution and evidence.9With agency
