Student activist Sharjeel Imam has moved the Supreme Court seeking bail in the larger conspiracy case related to the February 2020 Delhi riots. This development comes just three days after the Delhi High Court rejected his plea for release, leaving him to continue in custody.
Imam, who was arrested on January 28, 2020, has been in pre-trial detention for more than five years. In his petition, filed through advocate Fauzia Shakil, he challenges the Delhi High Court’s September 2 order and highlights the prolonged nature of his incarceration.
The plea argues that systemic delays in the trial, for which Imam is not responsible, have resulted in his continued imprisonment. Denial of bail under these circumstances, it contends, effectively amounts to punishing an undertrial and undermines his right to liberty.
