Consider Sharjeel Imam’s plea to expedite bail hearing, SC tells Delhi High Court

The bench said, “This being the writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, we are not inclined to entertain the same. However, the petitioner shall be at liberty to request the High Court to hear the said appeal as expeditiously as possible and preferably on the next date fixed, i.e., 25.11.2024 and it is expected that the High Court shall consider the said request.”

Arrested in January 2020, Imam has since been in custody under charges of sedition and under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act for an alleged inflammatory speech.

Delhi Police booked him as an accused in the larger conspiracy case related to the February 2020 Northeast Delhi communal riots, in which over 50 people were killed. He was taken into custody in this case in August 2020.

Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, who appeared for Imam, told the bench that the bail appeal has been listed for hearing “at least 64 times before seven different division benches” of the Delhi High Court. Imam had approached the High Court after the trial court denied him bail.

Case records show that while Imam’s lawyers had sought at least nine adjournments, the Special Public Prosecutor sought three adjournments and the case was “re-notified” after “the Hon’ble High Court Bench did not assemble” in at least 16 instances.

On September 25, The Indian Express had reported that in over two years, the Delhi High Court will have to hear afresh the bail pleas of four accused in the 2020 Northeast Delhi riots, for the third time. This is because of changes in the roster combinations, recusals and transfer of judges.

Imam’s case was last heard on March 19 and arguments on his behalf were concluded. However, while Delhi Police was yet to finish its response, the plea was adjourned and the judge heading the bench — Justice Suresh Kait — was elevated as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

On May 29, the Delhi High Court granted Imam statutory bail (bail on technical grounds under the Section 436-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure) in the sedition case. An accused is granted statutory bail if he has served half of the maximum period of imprisonment prescribed for the offence — seven years in the case of sedition.