Delhi riots case: Sharjeel Imam gets 7-day interim bail to attend cousins' weddings

A Delhi court granted Sharjeel Imam seven days' interim bail from October 4 to 10 to attend his cousins' weddings in Delhi and Bihar, despite opposition from the Delhi Police, which cited the seriousness of the allegations and repeated bail pleas.

In Short

• He must furnish a Rs 50,000 bond and matching surety
• The court ordered surrender before jail authorities on 10 October evening
• He cannot contact witnesses, use social media, or meet outsiders

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Sharjeel Imam from October 4 to October 10 to allow him to attend the weddings of his two cousin brothers in New Delhi and Bihar. The order was passed by the Karkardooma court on his second plea for interim bail, with the court noting that the request related to the marriage of his cousins.

Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai granted Imam seven days' interim bail, subject to conditions including furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety of the like amount. The court also directed him to surrender before the jail authorities on the evening of October 10.

As part of the conditions, the court said Imam shall not contact any person or witness connected with the case, shall not use social media, and shall not meet anyone other than his family members.

Imam had moved the application through advocates Ahmad Ibrahim and Ayesha Zaidi, seeking two weeks' interim bail from September 30 to October 13 to attend the marriages of Danish Imam and Fahad Imam.

It was submitted before the court that one marriage is scheduled for October 4 in Delhi and the other for October 7 in Sasaram, Bihar. Delhi Police filed a reply verifying the marriages. However, Special Public Prosecutor Anirudh Mishra opposed the plea, arguing that the allegations against the accused are serious and that his regular bail has been rejected several times by the court.

The prosecutor also submitted that neither Imam's presence nor any financial assistance from him was required, and argued that he has several cousins and may continue to seek similar relief repeatedly if bail is granted on this ground.

Imam is an accused in the 2020 Delhi riots larger conspiracy case and has been chargesheeted under the stringent anti-terror law, UAPA. His regular bail plea is pending before the Delhi High Court.

Both Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam are accused under the UAPA in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy linked to the February 2020 violence in northeast Delhi, in which 53 people were killed and more than 700 were injured, according to the prosecution. The violence broke out during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, and the proposed National Register of Citizens.

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Inputs from ANI