A Delhi court on Saturday held that Sharjeel Imam had breached a condition of his interim bail by being present during a media interaction, but declined to revoke the relief as he is required to surrender by the evening. Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Court made the observation while hearing allegations that Imam had violated the restrictions imposed on him during his seven-day interim bail, granted from October 4 to October 10 to attend the wedding functions of his cousins.
The bail order expressly prohibited Imam from interacting with the media or using social media during the period.Special Public Prosecutor Madhukar Pandey, appearing for the prosecution, argued that Imam had breached the condition. He cited videos circulated on YouTube and X, claiming they showed Imam in the room where his brother was being interviewed by news agency ANI.
Pandey pointed to footage showing Imam seated in the living room and speaking with people present there. He argued that the recording could not have taken place without Imam’s knowledge. Appearing for Imam, advocate Talib Mustafa denied that his client had interacted with any journalist or given an interview. He argued that a video published by News24 was a compilation of separate clips and maintained that the interview was given by Imam’s brother, who was not subject to the conditions imposed on Imam.
“Thus, it is clear that not only the first part of the video, in which the brother of the accused was giving interview to the media person, but the second part and the third part also were shot by the same media person of ANI News. Apparently these 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,” the Court said as reported by the Bar and Bench
After viewing the footage, the court rejected the defence’s argument that Imam was not present during the interview. It observed that the clips showed him and several other people in the same room while his brother was being interviewed. The court also noted that the relevant portions carried ANI’s identification, indicating that they had been recorded by the news agency.
Despite finding a violation of the bail condition, the court declined to cancel Imam’s interim bail, observing that he was due to surrender later on Saturday.
Imam has been in custody since January 2020 in connection with cases arising from protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC). Although he has secured bail in other cases, he remains incarcerated in the larger conspiracy case linked to the 2020 Delhi riots, in which the Delhi Police has invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
