Guwahati High Court today granted statutory bail to JNU student Sharjeel Imam who was earlier arrested in January on charges of sedition and was slapped under UAPA by the state of Assam. However, the bail order does not mean that he will be released from jail yet. There are other pending cases against him in different states, including Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.
Here are five components of the story
- The bail has been granted to him in FIR number 01/2020, registered by Crime Branch, Guwahati Police.
- Police failed to file a charge sheet in the stipulated time of 90 days and did not seek any further extension, therefore the court had to grant him statutory bail.
- Sharjeel Imam had earlier surrendered before Bihar Police in his home town Jehanbad after charges of sedition were slapped against him in the aftermath of his viral video asking for Chakka Jam ( Roadblock).
- The nature of the bail is Statutory Bail since police failed to file the charge sheet and did not seek a further extension of ninety days for filing it as per the clause under UAPA.
- Sharjeel Imam will continue to remain in jail on account of multiple FIRS again him in different states of India, two of them under UAPA.