 Summary of this article
- Supreme Court granted bail to five Delhi riots accused but denied bail to Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid under UAPA.
- January 28 marks six years since Sharjeel Imam’s arrest, despite bail in seven of eight FIRs against him.
- Imam says he has denied violence, advocates democratic reform, and calls his prosecution punishment for dissent.
On January 5, the Supreme Court granted bail to five out of seven accused in the Delhi Riots Case. Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmad were granted bail. However, the bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid were rejected in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy matter. The court maintained there was a prima facie case against the two under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Today, January 28 marks six years since Imam's incarceration. He was arrested for allegedly delivering inflammatory speeches which would have resulted in a blockade in support of the anti-CAA protests.
Of the eight FIRs registered against Imam, he has been granted bail in seven, except the Delhi Riots case.
Although Sharjeel Imam’s Aligarh speech neither led to violence nor contained calls for it, something acknowledged by the Allahabad High Court in 2021.
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In an interview to Outlook, he explained why he had decided to contest the Bihar Assembly elections from the Bahadurganj constituency from behind bars and what the campaign represents for him.
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In the interview he said how his decision is not only political but ideological and symbolic as well. He believes it is the responsibility of every educated and progressive person to enter politics, raise the level of public discourse, and propose modern and technical solutions to everyday problems.
He writes that repeating worn-out slogans will not help; instead, “justice has to be the keyword”, which for him includes democratisation, decentralisation, proportional representation, minority reservation and genuine religious autonomy as statutory guarantees.
Denied bail to campaign during the Bihar Assembly elections, Imam eventually withdrew from the race. It was due to the Delhi High Court’s rejection of his bail plea on 2 September 2025 and the Supreme Court’s refusal to grant interim relief, with the matter deferred to late October.
In his interview, he said his participation in the electoral process sent out a powerful message. Imam claims he has “falsely accused of terrorism for advocating democratic rights of minorities.”
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