The Delhi High Court on Thursday sought the response of the city police on a plea by activist Sharjeel Imam challenging a trial court’s order to frame charges against him in the 2019 Jamia violence case.
Justice Sanjeev Narula also refused to stay the trial court proceedings in the case at this stage. The court issued a notice to the police on the main petition as well as on the stay application and listed the matter for further hearing on April 24.
Imam has challenged the trial court’s March 7 order, in which it stated that he was not only an instigator but also one of the “kingpins of a larger conspiracy to incite violence” and had ordered to frame charges against him.
The trial court observed that Imam’s December 13, 2019 speech near Jamia Millia Islamia University was “venomous”, “pitted one religion against another,” and was “indeed a hate speech”.
The case is being heard against Imam and others, who were booked at New Friends Colony Police Station under various provisions of the IPC, the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act (PDPP), and the Arms Act. The Delhi Police Crime Branch is investigating the matter.
Additionally, the trial court ordered framing of charges under various IPC and PDPP Act provisions against Anal Hussain, Anwar, Yunus, and Jumman, stating that police witness testimony and their mobile phone records established their participation in the riotous mob.
The case stems from the 2019-2020 protests at Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh, following the passage of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Parliament on December 11, 2019.
