Anti-CAA protester Sharjeel Imam seeks bail as police fail to file charges
Sharjeel Imam has sought default bail because the police did not file a charge sheet within the statutory period of 90 days.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday sought the response of the city police on a bail plea by former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam arrested earlier this year during the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) .
Justice V Kameswar Rao issued notice to the Delhi police and asked them to file their response within two weeks while posting the matter for June 10. Imam had moved the court seeking bail after the trial court had rejected his plea for default bail.
Default bail is granted to a person when the police does not file a charge sheet or final probe report within a stipulated time during the days of first remand of the accused.
Additional Solicitor General Maninder Kaur Acharya appeared for the state while Imam was represented by senior advocate Rebecca John.
Imam has challenged the trial court’s April 25 order by which the Delhi Police was granted further time, beyond the statutory 90 days, to complete the investigation in the case filed under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
He has also sought default bail in the matter on the ground that the investigation was not concluded within the statutory period of 90 days.
Imam was arrested on January 28 in the case related to violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act near the Jamia Millia Islamia University in December last year. The statutory period of 90 days from the arrest was ended on April 27.