New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday discharged Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) former student Sharjeel Imam and co-accused Asif Iqbal Tanha in a case related to incidents of violence at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University in 2019.
However, Imam will continue to remain in jail for now as he is facing a probe under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the conspiracy case related to the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots.
The violence had erupted after a clash between police and people protesting against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
Additional Sessions Judge of Saket Court Arul Verma passed the order.
Both Imam and Tanha were charged under several sections of the Indian Penal Code related to rioting and unlawful assembly.
The court framed charges of unlawful assembly and rioting against one of the co-accused named Mohd Ilyas.
Book actual perpetrators instead of dissenters: Court
“Agencies should book actual perpetrators and not dissenters. Agencies cannot blur lines between dissenters and rioters,” the court observed.
During the hearing, the judge said, "The charge sheet was 'ill conceived'. Investigation agencies should have incorporated the use of technology and gathered credible evidence."
The Saket court accepted the argument of Imam's lawyer, where he said, "He only campaigned in favor of a means of peaceful protest and not violence."
As per the prosecution, Imam had allegedly made speeches at Jamia Millia Islamia on December 13, 2019, and at the Aligarh Muslim University on December 16, 2019, where he threatened to cut off Assam and the rest of the Northeast from India.
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