Court frames charges against Sharjeel Imam in anti-CAA stir

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University scholar Sharjeel Imam was not only an instigator but also one of the "kingpins" of the larger conspiracy to incite violence during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests in Delhi in 2019, a city court has said, while ordering the framing of charges against the 37-year-old student leader.

- Arnabjit Sur

NEW DELHI:

The court, in its March 7 order, described Imam's speeches as "venomous," aimed at pitting one religious community against another and inciting mass-scale disruption through unlawful means.

Advocate Ibrahim Ahmed, Imam's counsel, said they will challenge the order.

Additional sessions judge Vishal Singh of Saket Court observed that Imam systematically orchestrated inflammatory speeches across multiple locations, including Munirka, Nizamuddin, Shaheen Bagh and Jamia Nagar, in December 2019. These speeches, the court added, were intended to provoke the Muslim community against the government's implementation of the CAA and National Register of Citizens (NRC).

Rejecting Imam's defense that he neither participated in nor directly incited the rioters, the court ruled that his speeches were crafted to "evoke anger and hatred," which naturally led to violence. "His speech was venomous and pitted one religion against another. It was, indeed, a hate speech," the court said.