Order reserved on Sharjeel's plea for statutory bail

NEW DELHI: A court on Monday reserved an order on a plea by former JNU student Sharjeel Imam seeking statutory bail on the ground that he had spent in custody half of the maximum punishment prescribed in a sedition case. Imam has been in custody since January 28, 2020.
The counsel for Imam, Talib Mustafa, submitted before the court of additional sessions judge Amitabh Rawat that he had been in custody for over three and a half years, more than half of the maximum sentence of seven years in the case under Section 13 of Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). The court reserved the order for September 25.
Last month, Imam moved court for the bail under Section 436A of CrPC in the case that deals with alleged inflammatory speeches made by him at Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Milia in Delhi against Citizenship Amendment Act.
Opposing the plea, the prosecution said there were multiple offences, not just one offence. Imam's counsel, however, said the prosecution should treat him as innocent until proven guilty. "He has undergone half of the maximum sentence even without a trial."