Delhi court says Sharjeel Imam was ‘one of the kingpins’ inciting violence during 2019 anti-CAA protests

File picture of Sharjeel Imam.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A Delhi court on March 7 framed charges against Sharjeel Imam, Asif Iqbal Tanha, and nine others for their involvement in violence that broke during the 2019 anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in the national capital’s Jamia Nagar area.

Noting that the speech made by Mr. Imam near the Jamia Millia Islamia University on December 13, 2019 was “venomous”, “pitted one religion against another” and “indeed a hate speech”, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh of the Saket court described Mr. Imam not only as an instigator, but also “one of the kingpins” of a larger conspiracy to incite violence.

“Being a senior Ph.D. student, accused Sharjeel Imam craftily clothed his speech in which he avoided the mention of communities other than Muslim community, but the intended victims of the ‘chakka jaam’ were members of communities other than the Muslim community. Why, otherwise, did accused Sharjeel Imam incite only members of Muslim religion to disrupt the normal functioning of society,” the court said in its order.

It added that Mr. Imam had openly invoked feelings of anger and hatred in the minds of the Muslim community, and instigated them to cause “mass-scale disruption in public life in multiple cities of northern India” through chakka jaam (complete stoppage of public movement).

“Evidently, the assembling of a huge mob and the mass-scale rioting committed by it was not a random or spontaneous happening and could not have been committed except in pursuance of a larger conspiracy entered into between the self-proclaimed leaders and initiators of mob activity, whereas other members of the mob/unlawful assembly kept joining in,” the court said.

The court said that there could be nothing peaceful about a chakka jaam.

“In a populous city like Delhi, at any given time, scores of critically ill medical patients requiring urgent treatment are in a rush to reach hospitals. Chakka jaam can potentially lead to deterioration of their condition or even death if they do not receive medical care on time, which would be nothing short of culpable homicide. Vehicles supplying essential and emergency services are on the roads. Chakka jaam essentially results in the violation of fundamental right to life and health of public. Even if the mob does not indulge in violence and arson while enforcing chakka jaam, it would still be a violent act by one section of society against the other,” the court said.

“Accused Ashu Khan, Chandan Kumar, and Aasif Iqbal Tanha committed abetment by prior conspiracy as well as by instigating violent mob activity at the spot, for which penal provision of Section 109 (abetment) of the IPC is justifiably invoked against them,” the judge said.

The court ordered charges to be framed under various Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act against Anal Hussain, Anwar, Yunus, and Jumman, saying it had been established by a police witness, and the accused persons’ mobile phone records that they had been a part of a riotous mob.

The case stems from 2019-2020 protests at Jamia Millia Islamia University and Shaheen Bagh following the passage of the CAA in Parliament on December 11, 2019. The First Information Report in the case was lodged at the New Friend’s Colony Police Station here.