On Wednesday, the Supreme Court has granted two weeks time to Jawaharlal Nehru University research scholar Sharjeel Imam to file additional documents in his petition seeking clubbing of FIRs registered against him.
Sharjeel Imam is currently in jail with several cases against him in five states, Delhi, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh for a speech which he called for a road blockade as a method of protest against discriminatory Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
In his plea, Imam has sought that all his criminal cases be transferred to Delhi and that the case is investigated by a single agency.
A three-judge bench, comprising Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy, and M.R. Shah, has listed the matter for next hearing after two weeks.
“Further developments have happened. We have to inspect court files but due to closure of courts we have not been able to do that,” said Sharjeel Imam’s lawyer.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Imam was arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell under the draconian UAPA in connection with violence that broke out in the national capital in February. He was brought back to Delhi from Assam on Sunday on a production warrant.
United Nations and international human rights watchdogs including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, civil society groups, Muslim organizations, teachers associations, student organizations, and filmmakers across India had issued different statements calling for the release of Sharjeel Imam and anti-CAA activists who were ‘targetted by Hindu nationalist government for protesting anti-Muslim laws’ and ‘arrested under false accusations by police.’
