Sharjeel Imam’s bail plea should be sent back to trial court: Delhi Police

NEW DELHI: Delhi Police on Monday submitted before Delhi High Court that the matter regarding the bail plea of former Jawahar Lal Nehru University student Sharjeel Imam should be sent back to the trial court in wake of the changed circumstances after the Supreme Court put the sedition law in abeyance.
The submissions came after the division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh on Monday sought to know from the police whether Imam’s regular bail plea should be sent back for fresh adjudication as the trial court had not recorded any reason for its dismissal last year.
The next hearing of the matter has been scheduled for February 20.
Special public prosecutor Amit Prasad made submissions before the court while seeking regular bail in a case of sedition against Imam for allegedly making inflammatory speeches. However, now since the law is on hold, the matter should be remanded back to the trial court to decide the further course of action, Prasad submitted.
On Monday before court, Imam denied giving any provocative speeches.
Imam has moved the high court, challenging the trial court order last year that dismissed his bail plea and also framed charges against him for his alleged provocative speeches delivered during the anti-CAA/NRC protests.
The speeches for which Imam was arrested were made in the Jamia area on December 13, 2019, and at Aligarh Muslim University on January 16, 2020. He has been in judicial custody since January 28, 2020.
The bench asked the SPP to take instructions on this aspect while noting that since it is an appellate court, it cannot decide the bail plea unless proper reasonings have been given by the trial court.