Sedition case: Delhi Court adjourns Sharjeel Imam's bail plea to July 7

New Delhi, June 10 (IANS) A court here on Friday adjourned the interim bail plea moved by activist Sharjeel Imam in connection with a sedition case linked to the alleged inflammatory speeches delivered by him for hearing on July 7.

On June 6, the order in the matter was reserved and the verdict was expected to be pronounced Friday.

The matter, which came in the listings in Karkardooma court in the city, however, was posted for next month as courts are on vacation from this day.

Imam, who has been in judicial custody since January 28, 2020, was seeking relief in the sedition case following the historic Supreme Court verdict that put on hold the colonial-era penal provision of sedition (Section 124-A of the Indian Penal Code).

As per the case, the alleged inflammatory speeches were made in Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019, and in Aligarh Muslim University on January 16, 2020.

Earlier, the Additional Sessions Judge had sought the response of the Delhi Police on the bail plea on the sedition case slapped against the former JNU scholar.

In his fresh bail application, Imam had said that since the top court has put sedition in abeyance, his case has improved for the grant of bail.

"The appellant has been incarcerated for nearly 28 months since January 28, 2020 whereas the maximum punishment for the offences -- not including 124-A IPC -- are punishable up to a maximum of 7 years of imprisonment," his plea read.

JNU scholars and activists Imam and Umar Khalid are among the nearly a dozen people involved in the alleged larger conspiracy case linked with the 2020 Delhi riots, as per the Delhi Police. Imam and Khalid are facing charges in connection with the inflammatory speeches which allegedly fuelled the violence, as per the police.

The riots broke out in the national capital in February 2020 as clashes between the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) and pro-CAA protesters took a violent turn. The mayhem, which coincided with the then US President Donald Trump's maiden trip to India, saw more than 50 people lose their lives while over 700 were injured.