SC adjourns for next week hearing on Sharjeel Imam's plea to club all FIRs against him

The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned for next week hearing on JNU student Sharjeel Imam's plea seeking to club all FIRs filed against him under charges including sedition and hate speech during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan adjourned the matter for next week after taking into note that Arunachal Pradesh government has filed its reply in the case.

Earlier, the top court had sought response from Assam, Mpur, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh on Imam's plea.

In his plea, Imam has also sought to transfer all criminal cases against him to the national capital for the probe to be conducted by a single agency.

The plea said that five FIRs have been registered against him in different states in connection with two speeches given in Delhi and in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh.

It said that the FIRs are lodged against Imam in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Mpur and Arunachal Pradesh and he has been booked under sedition charges.

Currently held in a Guwahati Jail, Imam has been booked for his alleged role in violence at Jamia Millia Islamia University in the aftermath of anti-CAA protests.

Aside from sedition (section 124A of the Indian Penal Code) and hate speech (section 153A of the Indian Penal Code), Imam has also been booked under section 13 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a law aimed at punishing those involved in terrorism and activities intended to bring about the secession of any part of the country.

Imam, in a speech delivered at Aligarh Muslim University on January 16, had said Assam should be "cut off" from the rest of the country but he later clarified he was calling for blocking roads leading to Assam as part of protests against the CAA.

( With inputs from ANI )