Sharjeel Imam lambasted ideas of democracy, secularism in speeches: Court

The court said that prima facie the speeches were aimed at the Muslim audience, and seem to be “indicative of showing the worthlessness of the community and their existential crisis”

JNU student Sharjeel Imam “lambasted” the Constitution, and the ideas of democracy and secularism, a Delhi court said while framing charges of sedition and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against him for giving alleged inflammatory speeches at Aligarh Muslim University and Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area while addressing the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protesters.

The court has framed charges of sedition and under UAPA against him for giving alleged inflammatory speeches at Aligarh Muslim University and Delhi’s Jamia Nagar area while addressing the anti-CAA protesters. (REUTERS)

The order came on Monday, but a detailed copy was uploaded on the court’s website on Tuesday evening.

The court said that prima facie the speeches were aimed at the Muslim audience, and seem to be “indicative of showing the worthlessness of the community and their existential crisis”.

Imam has been in judicial custody since January 28, 2020. On Monday, while framing charges, the court also rejected his bail plea.

Additional Sessions judge Amitabh Rawat said according to the speeches and other material produced by the prosecution, on a prima facie level, there appears to be a tendency to create public disorder and incitement to violence. He said violence indeed took place due to Imam’s alleged provocative speeches.

The judge said the speech also appears to challenge the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India. It also appears to create hatred/contempt for the lawful institutions of the state and to challenge them by unlawful means.

“It appears that he (Imam) is trying to convince the people that Muslims as a community have been deprived because of the Constitution and people who made the Constitution or who are required to protect it,” the judge said in the order.

“The speeches appear to be completely pessimistic…The accused has made utterances not just once but many times over. It is not as if the words are spelt out in a moment of haste or anger or antagonism without intending it,” the court said.

“The accused by referring to the blockage/cutoff of ‘chicken neck’ which joins mainland India to the NorthEast by seems to remind everyone that the said land belongs to Muslims and the call to do it, by certain means, is indicative of his intention,” the judge said.

The Delhi Police filed a charge sheet against Imam in July 2020.

Imam, through his counsel Tanveer Ahmed Mir, had contended that his client’s prosecution for alleged inflammatory speeches is the “whip of a monarch rather than a government established by law”. He had said that Imam’s criticism of the government cannot be the cause of sedition.

Mir had also said that his client is not a terrorist or associated with some terrorist outfit, adding that he has criminal antecedents or any political agenda. The lawyer said that there were many prosecutions against Imam just because he had criticized the government’s policies.

Besides this case, Imam is also accused of being the “mastermind” of the February 2020 riots, which left 53 people dead and over 700 injured. He has been booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or UAPA.

Earlier in December, the court had granted bail to Imam in a case of alleged violence at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019, during protests against the amended citizenship law. The FIR under which he is an accused involves offences such as rioting, conspiracy, attempt to commit culpable homicide, voluntarily obstructing public servant in discharge of public functions, and assault.