HC grants student activist Sharjeel Imam bail in Delhi communal riots case

More than four years after he was arrested, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to student activist Sharjeel Imam in connection with a 2020 communal riots case involving allegations of sedition and unlawful activities. Imam had assailed a trial court order refusing to release him even though he had undergone more than half of the maximum sentence that could be awarded to him, if convicted. He claimed he was entitled to bail under the criminal statute. "Appeal is allowed," a bench of Justices Suresh Kumar Kait and Manoj Jain said after hearing the counsel for Imam and the Delhi Police. He will, however, stay behind bars as he has not been granted relief in the case involving alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 North East Delhi riots which left more than 50 people dead and hundreds of others injured. According to the prosecution, Imam made speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019 and at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 16, 2019 where he threaten