‘Kingpin of a larger conspiracy’: Delhi court frames charges against Sharjeel in Jamia violence case

A Delhi court recently framed charges against PhD scholar Sharjeel Imam and others in a case related to violence near Jamia Millia University during the 2019 anti-citizenship law protests.

Vishal Singh, Additional Sessions Judge of the Saket court, said Sharjeel “craftily clothed” his speech in which he avoided the mention of communities other than Muslim but the intended victims of a “chakka jam” were members of these communities.

“Why, otherwise, did Sharjeel incite only members of the Muslim community to disrupt functioning of society,” the court said.

It noted that he invoked feelings of anger and hatred in the minds of the Muslim community and instigated members to cause widespread disruption of public life in several cities in North India.

“His speech was calculated — to evoke anger and hatred, the natural consequence of which was commission of widespread violence by members of unlawful assembly on public roads. His speech was venomous and pitted one religion against another. It was, indeed, a hate speech. He committed abetment by instigating violent mob activity through his communal speech, for which penal provision of Section 109 of the IPC read with Section 153A of the IPC is justifiably invoked against him,” the order read.

The court observed that there could be nothing peaceful about a “chakka jam”. “Sharjeel was not only an instigator, he was also one of the kingpins of a larger conspiracy to incite violence,” it added.

The court framed charges against him under Section 109 (abetment) read with Section 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with Section 153A (promotion of enmity) of the IPC. The other charges against him include Section 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting with deadly weapon), 186 (obstructing a public servant), 333 (grievous hurt to a public servant), 308 (culpable homicide) and Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

The case pertains to an FIR registered at the crime branch in New Friends Colony alleging that during the protests, 41 vehicles, including government and private, were damaged by unlawful assembly and police officials were pelted with stones.

Among others against whom the court framed charges included Ashu Khan, Chandan Kumar, Anal Hussain, Anwar, Yunus, Jumman, Rana, Mohd Harun and Mohd Furkan.

The court discharged several accused. “It is observed that unless supported by any other credible evidence of physical presence, the location of the mobile phone is a poor and unreliable indicator of the presence or absence of a person at a given place. On its own, the location of the mobile phone cannot be used to either inculpate or exculpate a person in respect of a criminal liability,” it noted while discharging them.