Imam had approached the High Court against a trial court order denying him bail in the sedition case.
He argued that he had already spent four years in jail out of the maximum sentence of seven years and is, therefore, eligible for statutory bail.
He added that the offence of sedition has been kept in abeyance by the Supreme Court of India and that the UAPA provisions invoked against him do not carry more than a seven-year sentence.
In an order passed on February 17, the trial court denied bail to Imam holding that even though speeches and other activities by Imam against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) did not contain any exhortation to people to pick up weapons or kill people, they did mobilise the public which might be the main reason for the outbreak of the Delhi riots.
Imam’s speeches were so powerful that it captured the imagination of people belonging to a particular community and incited them to take part in disruptive activities which resulted in riots, Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai had opined.
Imam challenged this trial court order before the High Court, which allowed his plea on May 29.
Imam, however, continues to remain in jail since he is also an accused in the larger conspiracy case connected to the Delhi riots.
Source: Barandbench
