Delhi: Jailed activist and student leader Sharjeel Imam has approached a Delhi court seeking interim bail for two weeks to contest the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, Bar and Bench reported.
Imam filed the application before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of Karkardooma Courts, who is overseeing the February 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. He has requested bail from October 15 to October 29 to participate in the elections.
The Bahadurganj constituency in Kishanganj district will be Imam’s electoral seat. Bihar’s state assembly elections are scheduled in two phases on November 6 and November 11, with results due on November 14.
Although Imam has been granted bail in other cases, he remains in custody in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, where the Delhi Police invoked the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC).
In his plea, Imam describes himself as a “political prisoner and a student activist,” stating, “He is willing to contest elections from his home state Bihar, which is scheduled to take place in two phases from 10.10.2025 to 16.11.2025.”
Currently, the Bahadurganj seat is held by Mohammed Anzar Nayeemi, who was elected in 2020 on an AIMIM ticket but later joined the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
A native of Kako village in Jehanabad, Bihar, the JNU activist has been in Delhi’s Tihar Jail since January 2020, spending over five years in pre-trial detention. He recently moved the Supreme Court after the Delhi High Court denied him bail in September in the larger conspiracy case.
Imam’s lawyers argued that his prolonged incarceration is due to trial delays, for which he should not be held responsible.