After 5 Years in Jail, Sharjeel Imam Seeks Bail to Contest Bihar Election

Delhi riots accused and anti-CAA activist Sharjeel Imam has filed for interim bail to contest the upStudent activist Sharjeel Imam, jailed for over five years in connection with the Delhi riots case, has announced his plans to contest the upcoming Bihar assembly elections from the Bahadurganj constituency in Kishanganj district as an independent candidate. The former JNU student leader has moved a Delhi court seeking interim bail to campaign ahead of the polls.

Imam’s application, filed before Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai at Karkardooma Courts, requests bail from October 15 to October 29. Bahadurganj votes in the second phase of the Bihar assembly elections on November 11, with results scheduled for November 14.

Currently, the seat is held by Mohammad Anzar Nayeemi, who won in 2020 on an AIMIM ticket before switching to the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). Imam, a native of Kako village in Jehanabad, has been in pre-trial detention since January 2020. His bail plea follows the Delhi High Court’s rejection last month in the larger conspiracy case related to the February 2020 riots, a decision now under challenge in the Supreme Court.

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His counsel has argued that Imam’s prolonged incarceration is the result of systemic trial delays, for which he bears no responsibility. The announcement adds another controversial figure to the electoral fray, coming months after fellow Delhi riots accused Shifa-ur Rehman and Tahir Hussain contested assembly elections in Delhi on an AIMIM ticket.

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