On Saturday, 19 December, a Delhi court took cognisance against JNU student Sharjeel Imam for offence of sedition in a case related to allegedly giving a seditious speech and instigating the anti-CAA violence that took place in Jamia Millia Islamia on 15 December 2019.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat took cognisance of the offences under sections 124A (sedition), 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language), 153B (imputations, assertions prejudicial to national-integration), and 505 (public mischief) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against Imam, PTI reported.
Earlier, the court had taken cognisance of the offence charged under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against Imam, but had deferred taking cognisance of offences under Sections 124A/153A/153B/505 IPC “for want of requisite sanction under Section 196 CrPC,” Livelaw reported.
The Delhi police filed a supplementary chargesheet on Saturday and stated the requisite sanctions given by the concerned authorities.
In the order, the judge noted, "The requisite sanction...has been filed. I have perused the supplementary charge sheet. In view of the same, I take cognisance for commission of offence under Section 124A/153A/153B/505 IPC," PTI report mentioned.
Imam had been arrested for ‘instigating and abetting Jamia riots’ from Bihar's Jehanabad on 28 January for allegedly making inflammatory speeches regarding the Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 at the Jamia Millia Islamia University in Delhi and in Aligarh.
Earlier, UP, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh police had also booked Imam on charges of sedition.
(With inputs from PTI, Livelaw)
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