A Delhi court on Saturday held that student activist Sharjeel Imam, accused in the 2020 northeast Delhi riots larger conspiracy case, "apparently flouted" a condition of his interim bail by coming in contact with the media, but refused to cancel the bail as he was already on his way to surrender.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai passed the order on an application filed by the state seeking cancellation of Imam's interim bail. The order said, "As far as the cancellation of the interim bail is concerned, the accused has already boarded a flight and will reach Delhi in the evening and will surrender. Therefore, under these circumstances, it will not be appropriate for the court to pass an order for cancellation of bail."
On September 22, Imam was granted bail for seven days from October 4 to 10 to attend his cousin's wedding. However, the order barred him from using social media or contacting any media person, and from meeting anyone other than family members, relatives and friends.
Representing the state, Special Public Prosecutors Madhukar Pandey and Anirudh Mishra submitted before the court that Imam violated his bail conditions, pointing to videos on a YouTube channel and on social media platform X. They said the video uploaded by a news channel showed Imam's brother giving an interview when he was present in the room.
Imam's counsel Talif Mustafa and Ahmad Ibrahim denied the allegations, saying that he had not used social media, given any interview or interacted with any media person. They argued that the 4-minute-55-second video uploaded on October 5 was a compilation by News 24 from three unconnected sources: an interview of his brother, a private clip of Imam with family and friends, and a clip of a politician unrelated to him.
The defence said no restrictions were imposed on Imam's brother. The defence argued that bail can be cancelled only in very cogent and overwhelming circumstances, and that the power must be exercised with extreme care and circumspection.
After watching the videos, the court noted that the first video had four parts: the brother's interview about proceedings in the present case; Imam sitting in a room with two to three persons; a wider-angle view of the same scene showing Imam and six to seven persons, including his brother; and a clip of a politician that was not relevant.
The court said that when viewed cumulatively, the three relevant parts were shot in the same room at almost the same time, and "in all probability" Imam was present when the media person was interviewing his brother. "Apparently, these facts and circumstances show that the media person was there in the same room where the accused was also sitting.
Thus, apparently the accused has flouted term ii of the bail order dated September 22, 2026, whereby he was granted interim bail," the judge said. The court said that, however, Imam was supposed to surrender at the jail by Saturday evening, and according to his counsel, he had already boarded a flight and would reach Delhi soon.
The case against Imam pertains to an FIR registered in connection with the 2020 northeast Delhi riots and includes charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and various provisions of the Indian Penal Code.
(Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by the Daily Jagran staff and has been edited through a syndicated feed by PTI.)