Activist Sharjeel Imam was granted a 10-day interim bail by a Delhi court in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. This was reportedly for him to attend his brother’s wedding and care for his sick mother.. Sharjeel Imam was charged under section 15A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) along with fellow activist Umar Khalid. (Amal KS/ Hindustan Times). Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai was hearing the interim bail plea filed by Sharjeel Imam, which sought six weeks relief. In this light, the court granted him interim bail from March 20 to 30, news agency PTI reported.. ALSO READ | AIP welcomes former CJI’s statement on Umar, Sharjeel. This comes as good news for the supports of Khalid and Imam, particularly the Awami Ittehad Party (AIP), which said former Chief Justice of India (CJI), Justice DY Chandrachud’s statement is a “ray of hope for hundreds of Kashmiris languishing in jails” after he said Khalid and Imam should have been released on bail.. The two were arrested under Section 15A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) after being accused of instigating the riots in Delhi in 2020. Both Khalid and Imam were denied bail by the Supreme Court earlier this year, on January 5, but five others were granted bail, namely Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa-ur-Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan and Shadab Ahmed.. ALSO READ | Owaisi hits out at Congress after SC denies bail for Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam. The top court cited “hierarchy of participation” as the reason for this and said that their continued jail time was not necessary for a fair trial.. Shortly afterwards, Imam’s lawyers said he had withdrawn from the anti-CAA protests in Delhi before the Delhi Assembly elections, fearing the peaceful agitation was turning violent. His counsel told the court that even the prosecution claims Imam had left the protests by January, weeks before the February 2020 riots.. ALSO READ | ‘Imam withdrew from Delhi anti-CAA stir before riots begun’. The defence also argued there is no call record or evidence of meetings linking Imam with Umar Khalid, and that he was not part of WhatsApp groups allegedly used to coordinate road blockades. Instead, he had created a separate group of Jamia students for peaceful demonstrations.. Imam is among 17 accused in the alleged conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots, which left 53 people dead and hundreds injured. Eleven accused are currently out on bail (excluding Imam), and the case is at the stage of arguments on framing of charges, with 17 of the 18 accused having completed their submissions.. (With inputs from PTI)