On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court provided Sharjeel Imam with statutory bail in a case involving UAPA and sedition charges. The case revolves around purportedly incendiary speeches he delivered at Aligarh Muslim University and in the Jamia area of Delhi, protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

A division bench led by Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Manoj Jain granted Imam's bail plea. He had contested the trial court's decision that had refused to grant him statutory bail in the case.

Imam had sought bail based on having served half of the maximum seven-year sentence. Advocates Talib Mustafa and Ahmed Ibrahim represented him, while SPP Rajat Nair appeared for the Delhi Police.

On February 17, the trial court rejected his plea, noting that his speeches and actions had "incited the public," leading to unrest in the national capital and potentially being a significant factor in the outbreak of the 2020 riots.

Imam was charged under FIR 22 of 2020 filed by the Delhi Police's Special Branch. Initially registered for sedition, the case later invoked Section 13 of the UAPA. He has been in custody since January 28, 2020, in connection with this case.

“Although the applicant did not ask anybody to pick the weapons and kill the people, his speeches and activities mobilised the public which disrupted the city and might be the main reason in the outbreak of the riots. Further, through inflammatory speeches and social media, the applicant skillfully manipulated the real facts and incited the public in order to create havoc in the city,” the trial court had said.