The Bombay High Court will hear on February 11, 2020 an anticipatory bail plea filed by a student of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) who has been charged with sedition for allegedly raising a slogan in support of Sharjeel Imam at an LGBTQ rally held at Azad Maidan last Saturday (February 1, 2020).
A Sessions Court had, on Febuary 5, 2020 rejected the anticipatory bail plea of Urvashi Chudawala, a 22-year-old student of Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), booked on charges of sedition by Mumbai Police for allegedly raising a slogan in support of JNU student Sharjeel Imam at an LGBTQ rally at Azad Maidan.
Urvashi moved the Bombay High Court today after the Sessions Court rejected her anticipatory bail plea on Wednesday.
The petition filed in the Bombay High Court on her behalf claims,
"The slogans raised by the Applicant were neither intended to, nor resulted in any violence or incitement to violence at the Azad Maidan.”
It also states,"The applicant was exercising her fundamental right to speech and that unless the speech results in imminent lawless action, it cannot be criminalized.”
It is also stated by the applicant that the entire case is based on the material or a video which is already in the custody of the police, and thus no case for custodial interrogation is made.
Advocate Vijay Hiremath mentioned the plea before a Single Judge Bench of Justice SK Shinde. The Court has now posted it for urgent hearing on Tuesday, February 11.
Urvashi was among the 51 people against whom an FIR was filed by the Mumbai Police on Monday. According to the FIR, the slogan, “Sharjeel tere sapno ko, hum manzil tak pahuchaenge”, was raised during the gathering.
Author: Shubham Jindal
