A Delhi court has held that Sharjeel Imam violated a condition of his interim bail by being present in a room where his brother was interviewed by the media. However, the Court declined to cancel his interim bail, noting that he was required to surrender by the evening of October 10.
The Karkardooma Courts, Delhi passed the order while considering the prosecution’s allegation that Imam had breached the condition prohibiting him from interacting with the media or using social media during his interim bail.
Sharjeel Imam had been granted interim bail for seven days, from October 4 to October 10, to attend the wedding functions of his cousin brothers. One of the conditions imposed by the Court was that he must not come in contact with the media or use social media.
The Counsel appearing for the Delhi Police, relied on videos uploaded on YouTube and X to contend that Imam was present in the room where his brother was interviewed by news agency ANI. The prosecution argued that Imam was seen speaking to people in the room and that the interview could not have been recorded without his knowledge.
The Counsel appearing for Imam, argued that his client had neither interacted with any journalist nor given an interview. He submitted that the video uploaded by News 24 was a compilation of separate clips and that the interview had been given by Imam’s brother, who was not bound by the bail conditions.
After viewing the videos, the Court rejected the defence contention that Imam was not present during the interview. It observed that the footage showed Imam and several other people in the same room where his brother was being interviewed, and that the relevant portions carried ANI’s identification.
The court observed that the facts and circumstances show that the media person of the ANI News was there in the same room where the accused was also sitting. Thus, apparently the accused has flouted the term ii of the bail order dated 22.09.2026, whereby he was granted interim bail.
However, the Court declined to cancel the interim bail, noting that Imam was required to surrender on October 10.
Background
Imam has been in custody since January 2020 in connection with cases arising from protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens. He remains incarcerated in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, in which the Delhi Police has invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Delhi High Court denied him regular bail in the case on September 2, 2025, and the Supreme Court upheld that decision on January 5, 2026.