NEW DELHI: Delhi’s Karkardooma court on Tuesday granted interim bail to Sharjeel Imam from October 4 to October 10 to attend the marriages of his two cousins in New Delhi and Bihar.Additional sessions judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai granted seven days’ interim bail to Imam, subject to conditions including furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000 and one surety in the like amount, news agency ANI reported.The court said this was Imam’s second plea for interim bail and that the request was to attend the marriages of his real cousins.It directed him to surrender before the jail authorities on the evening of October 10.The court also imposed conditions, including that Imam shall not contact any person or witness connected with the case, use social media, or meet anyone other than his family members.Imam had moved an application through advocates Ahmad Ibrahim and Ayesha Zaidi seeking two weeks’ interim bail from September 30 to October 13 to attend the marriages of Danish Imam and Fahad Imam, ANI reported.It was submitted that the marriages are scheduled for October 4 in Delhi and October 7 in Sasaram, Bihar.Delhi Police filed a reply verifying the marriages.However, special public prosecutor (SPP) Anirudh Mishra opposed the plea, stating that the allegations against the accused were serious and his regular bail had been rejected several times by the court.The SPP submitted that neither Imam’s presence nor any financial help from him was required.He also argued that Imam has several cousins and, if granted bail on the ground of marriage, he would keep seeking similar relief, ANI reported.Imam is an accused in the larger conspiracy case relating to the 2020 Delhi riots and has been chargesheeted under the UAPA.His regular bail plea is pending before the Delhi high court.Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam are accused under the UAPA in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy relating to the February 2020 northeast Delhi riots, in which 53 people were killed and more than 700 injured, according to the prosecution.The violence erupted during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 and the proposed National Register of Citizens.(With agency inputs)
