Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, March 28: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday partially overturned a decision that had discharged Sharjeel Imam, Safoora Zargar, Asif Iqbal Tanha, and eight other people in connection with the incident at Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019.
In her ruling, Judge Swarana Kanta Sharma stated:
“While there is no denial of the right to freedom of expression, this Court remains aware of its duty and has tried to decide the issue in that way. Right to peaceful assembly is subject to restriction. Damage to property and peace is not protected.”
The court partially overturned the trial court’s decision and filed charges for a variety of offences, including rioting and unauthorised assembly, against nine of the eleven defendants, including Imam, Tanha and Zargar.
Imam, Zargar, Mohd Qasim, Mahmood Anwar, Shahzar Raza, Umair Ahmed, Mohd Bilal Nadeem, and Chanda Yadav were charged under the Prevention of Damage to Public Buildings Act and Sections 143, 147, 149, 186, 353, and 427 of the Indian Criminal Code, respectively.
Accused In addition to being cleared of all other offences, Mohd Shoaib and Mohd Abuzar were charged under Section 143 of the IPC.
Tanha was absolved of violating IPC Sections 308, 323, 341 and 435. He was accused of violating other clauses.
The current case concerns the violence that occurred in and around Jamia Millia Islamia in December 2019 following announcements made by certain students and townspeople that they would march towards Parliament to protest the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Registration of Citizens (NRC).
But as the police used force to put an end to the protests, they quickly became violent, and some of the demonstrators are said to have infiltrated the university.
The Delhi Police have officially charged 12 persons in the case. They were charged for violating many provisions of the Indian Criminal Code (IPC), such as rioting and illegal assembly.
Other people who have been released include Mohammed Abuzar, Umair Ahmad, Mohammed Shoaib, Mahmood Anwar, Mohammed Qasim, Mohammed Bilal Nadeem, Shahzar Raza Khan, and Chanda Yadav in addition to Imam, Tanha, and Zargar. Mohammad Ilyas was the target of allegations.
The ruling was contested before the High Court by the Delhi Police. Judge Sharma ruled that the comments made in the verdict will not have any bearing on the current enquiry or the proceedings against the accused when the case was discussed on February 13.
But the judge declined to grant the Delhi Police’s request for an interim order expunging the statements.
