The Supreme Court of India directed the Delhi High Court on Friday to quickly address the bail plea of student activist Sharjeel Imam in a UAPA case connected to the Delhi riots of February 2020.
A bench comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and S C Sharma expressed that they would not entertain the petition seeking bail under Article 32 of the Constitution.
Imam’s lawyer, senior advocate Siddharth Dave, highlighted that the bail application had been pending since 2022 but clarified that he was not actively pursuing bail at this moment.
The Supreme Court acknowledged that the High Court would be reviewing the case on November 25.
“This being a writ petition filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, we do not wish to entertain it. However, the petitioner is free to request the High Court to hear the bail application as promptly as possible, preferably on the scheduled date of November 25,” stated the bench.
Imam and others have been charged under the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code for allegedly orchestrating the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2020 riots, which resulted in 53 deaths and over 700 injuries during the anti-CAA and NRC protests.
