New Delhi, Oct 14 (IANS) Sharjeel Imam, accused under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in the 2020 Delhi riots “larger conspiracy case”, on Tuesday withdrew his application filed before a Delhi court seeking interim bail to contest the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Courts said the application could be withdrawn after Imam’s counsel pointed out that the Supreme Court would be the right forum to seek interim bail as the regular bail plea remains pending there.

In his application, Sharjeel Imam has sought interim bail from October 15 to October 29 to contest as an Independent candidate from the Bahadurganj constituency in Kishanganj district.

The Supreme Court is already seized of the bail pleas of Sharjeel Imam, Umar Khalid, Meeran Haider, and Gulfisha Fatima, and has sought a response from the Delhi Police.

The student activists have been languishing in jail for the last five years.

Earlier, the Delhi High Court had denied bail to several leaders in connection with the alleged larger conspiracy behind the Delhi riots. In its order passed on September 2, a Bench of Justices Shalinder Kaur and Navin Chawla had delivered inflammatory speeches on February 24, 2020, coinciding with the then US President Donald Trump’s state visit, which the prosecution alleged was deliberately timed to trigger riots on February 23-24 and draw international attention.

“The alleged inflammatory and provocative speeches delivered by the appellants, when considered in totality, prima facie indicate their role in the alleged conspiracy,” the Delhi High Court said.

The ECI has announced that the Bihar Assembly elections will be held in two phases, on November 6 and 11, with the counting of votes scheduled for November 14. Bahadurganj will go to the polls on November 11.

–IANS

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