On Saturday, a Delhi court refused to grant Sharjeel Imam statutory bail in a case involving sedition and violations of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). He stands accused of delivering inflammatory speeches in the vicinity of Delhi's Jamia area and Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma court delivered the verdict.

The case related to the speeches given by Imam at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) and in the vicinity of Jamia area during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).

He was arrested in connection with the case on January 28, 2020. Subsequently, in July 2022, the trial court dismissed his initial bail plea related to this matter.

Imam argued that he had already served four years in custody out of a potential maximum sentence of seven years, thus making him eligible for statutory bail. He contended that the charge of sedition had been suspended by the Supreme Court of India, and the provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) invoked against him did not carry a sentence exceeding seven years.