Former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student, Sharjeel Usmani, has reportedly submitted before the Bombay High Court that he will continue cooperating with the Pune Police in connection with the sedition charges invoked against him for his speech at Elgar Parishad. He is scheduled to appear before the police for investigation on March 18, reported LiveLaw. 

During the hearing on March 15, Senior Advocate (appearing for Usmani) submitted that Sharjeel had appeared at the Swargate police station for interrogation on March 10 and said he would continue to cooperate with the probe, as guaranteed in the previous hearing. He argued that Sharjeel has not denied the speech at the 2021 Elgar Parishad Conclave, but the question is if it would attract section 153A (promoting enmity between groups) of the Indian Penal Code.

LiveLaw reported that Senior Counsel Mihir Desai argued that, “He has used some harsh words in his speech, words I would not have used. But the speech needs to be seen as a whole.” Justice SS Shinde reportedly read the translated copy of the speech, which starts by Sharjeel saying that he does not have faith in the judiciary and that the country is in a ‘state of war’.

Mihir Desai defended this by arguing, “I started by saying the speech has certain harsh words” and Justice Shinde asserted that the court will be open to criticism. LiveLaw further reported that Desai contended that it may take time for the court to apply its minds to the entire speech and suggested the case be kept for hearing on another date. He said, “Three aspects need to be considered; What is the message sent by the speech? Who it was addressed to? And the context in which it was made.”

According to an IE report, the Division Bench of Justices SS Shinde and Manish Pitale said that it will examine Usmani’s entire speech and recorded the assurance by the state government that no coercive action would be taken against him till the next hearing if he fulfils procedure as per the notice issued to him under the Code of Criminal Procedure and follows the Supreme Court’s guidelines to comply with obligations to the investigators.

The Pune police had registered an FIR against him on February 2, after BJP member Pradip Gavade filed a complaint, under the charge of ‘promoting enmity between different groups’. Another FIR in Lucknow’s Hazratganj police station has been filed at the instance of one Anuraj Singh who had stated that the speech delivered by Usmani propagates hatred against Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath.

A month later, Sharjeel Usmani moved the Bombay High Court for quashing the FIR registered against him in Pune on grounds that his speech was not offensive, and was taken “out of context”. His petition submitted before the High Court reads, “The petitioner in his speech has identified a problem in the social construct of this day, and has concluded with a solution to the problem…it is a settled position of law that the effects of that words must be judged from the standards of reasonable, strong-minded, firm and courageous men and not those who scent danger in every hostile point of view.”

The matter has been adjourned to March 22.

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Former Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student leader, Sharjeel Usmani has approached the Bombay High Court for quashing the FIR registered against him, in Pune, for his speech at the Elgar Parishad, reported LiveLaw.

The Swargate Police Station, Pune, registered an FIR against Usmani under section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place) of the Indian Penal Code on a complaint by Pradeep Gawade, the Secretary of the Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha.

As per a Bar & Bench report, he has contended that the FIRs of such nature are “protracted modus operandi” of misrepresenting what is said and culminates by initiating the criminal justice system. His plea states, “Such FIRs are designed to vitiate communal harmony and curb free speech and in effect redefine what is acceptable free speech.”

Sharjeel Usmani has denied all allegations of his speech being anti-Hindu, anti-judiciary and anti-Parliament, stating that there was not an iota of disharmony, violence or discomfort that occurred at the venue before or after his speech, as reported by some media sources.

LiveLaw reported that in his petition filed though advocate Aditi Saxena, the former student leader has said that on January 30, 2021 he gave a speech at a peaceful gathering organised to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Bhima Koregaon, in Pune in the presence of former Justice BG Kolse Patil, author Arundhati Roy and journalist Prashant Kanojia.

Further, his petition submitted before the High Court reads, “The petitioner in his speech has identified a problem in the social construct of this day, and has concluded with a solution to the problem…it is a settled position of law that the effects of that words must be judged from the standards of reasonable, strong-minded, firm and courageous men and not those who scent danger in every hostile point of view”, reported the legal website LiveLaw.

Usmani had been earlier arrested in July 2020 after being charged with attempt to murder, rioting, carrying deadly weapons and causing hurt to public servants, after the violence that broke out on AMU campus on December 15, 2019, during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest.

He was eventually granted bail in September 2020 by the District court stating that Usmani was not arrested from the scene of the crime, and no incriminating evidence was found on him at the time of arrest.

Related:

Sharjeel Usmani charged with Sedition for Elgar Parishad speech
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Sharjeel Usmani, former student of Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) has been charged with sedition in Lucknow after his speech at the Elgar Parishad held in Pune on January 30.

After his speech, Pune police had registered an FIR against him on February 2, after BJP member Pradip Gavade filed a complaint, under the charge of ‘promoting enmity between different groups’.

While the Pune FIR does not invoke the charge of Sedition, the one that has been subsequently filed in Lucknow, does. The FIR in Lucknow’ Hazratganj police station has been filed at the instance of one Anuraj Singh who states that the speech delivered by Usmani propagates hatred against UP Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath. The Lucknow FIR invokes other charges under section 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups), 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings), 298 (uttering words with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings) of the IPC.

The Home Minister of Maharashtra, Anil Deshmukh posted a tweet stating that Usmani will be arrested from wherever he is.

Police have investigated the video clippings of the Elgar event held on 30th in Pune& a case has been registered against Sharjeel Usmani for his offensive remarks. He is not currently in MH but we will arrest him from whichever state he is in be it Bihar, UP,Gujarat or elsewhere.

— ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) February 3, 2021

Usmani had been earlier arrested in July 2020 after being charged with attempt to murder, rioting, carrying deadly weapons and causing hurt to public servants, after the violence that broke out on AMU campus on December 15, 2019, during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest. He was granted bail in September 2020 by the District court stating that Usmani was not arrested from the scene of the crime, and no incriminating evidence was found on him at the time of arrest.

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The post Sharjeel Usmani charged with Sedition for Elgar Parishad speech appeared first on SabrangIndia.

On Thursday, July 9, the Uttar Pradesh police arrested Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) student Sharjeel Usmani and sent him to 14-days of judicial custody, The Quint reported. Usmani was arrested from his home in Azamgarh allegedly over FIRs against him for the violence that erupted at the AMU campus on December 15, 2019. The charges against him reportedly included attempt to murder, rioting, carrying deadly weapons and causing hurt to public servants, etc.

While Scroll.in reported that the Azamgarh Police had not made a formal statement about the arrest, Amar Ujala had said that Usmani was arrested by the personnel of the Lucknow Special Task Force and was allegedly wanted in the case with six other alumni of the AMU – Ahmed Muztaba Faraj, Shamim Bari, Salman Imtiaz, Amir Ul Jais, Naeem Ali, and Zaid Sherwani. It was also reported that Additional SP Arvind Kumar told Amar Ujala that the arrest was made by the anti-terrorism squad of the Lucknow Police and it was related to a case filed in Aligarh in December.

Tariq Usmani, Sharjeel’s father, had told The Quint that five or six people dressed in civil clothes picked Sharjeel up from his maternal uncle’s house in Azamgarh and confiscated his books, laptop and a set of clothes. He added that the family members were also made to stand and were photographed, stating their relation to Sharjeel.

A fact-finding report based on testimonies of students, teachers and others present on the AMU campus on December 15 alleged violence and police action, stating that the police had used stun grenades and raised slogans like Jai Shri Ram while attacking students. The report said that the incident was a shocking display of police brutality and was also vindictive. The police had allegedly hurled communal insults and abuses at the students even before the police unleashed their brutality on them.

Now, writing for Countercurrents.org, Abhay Kumar a PhD (Modern History) from Jawaharlal Nehru University, has said that Sharjeel Usmani, a student leader, has been victimized because of his Muslim identity. He adds that human rights activists argue that the police crackdown on peaceful protestors against the (CAA) within the campus was the real source of violence. The students of AMU — like the students of Jamia Millia Islamia – were not the instigators of the violence but the victims of the violence.

In the recent months, the police has arrested many student activists, mainly from JNU and Jamia Millia Islamia – Safoora Zargar, Meeran Haider, Asif Iqbal Tanha, Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, Khalid Saifi, Gulfisha Khatoon and Shifa-ur-Rahman among others on stringent charges for their role during the anti-CAA protests and northeast Delhi violence.

This, Kumar says, is an attempt to nip in the bud the emerging leadership among the Muslim community and that by repeated use of brute force, the larger Hindutva design is to keep the largest minority of the country terrorized. He adds that by keeping Muslims terrorized, the Hindutva forces try to turn them silent about the everyday violation of their rights.

Kumar adds that such attempts go to show that the communal ruling classes have never and still don’t accept Muslims as equal citizens or equal partners in the development of the country. He says that Muslims are just seen as a source of cheap labour and being made the targeted victims of state violence while the Hindutva forces grab state power and render Muslims as second-class citizens of the country.

Kumar alleges that the source of the hatred that Hindutva forces show against Muslims is a sense of ‘superiority’ and that this communal mindset has been responsible for the violence that anti-CAA protestors, especially Muslims, have to face. He also added that the cruel Hindutva system victimized Anand Teltumbde, Gautam Navlakha, Sudha Bharadwaj, Akhil Gogoi, Soni Sori (now on bail) and many others. In light of this he has appealed that Muslims, non-Muslims, believers and non-believers, whoever dreams of establishing a ‘system’ must come together in a united struggle to save the country from becoming a fiefdom of a particular group. Kumar said that the Hindutva forces have betrayed the National Movement in which everyone from Sir Syed to Mahatma Gandhi to Maulana Azad to Babasaheb Ambedkar echoed that Hindus and Muslims are the two eyes of the country and that social and economic democracy are the tissues and fibers of a political democracy.

Kumar says that it is within their game plan of anti-Muslim politics that Hindutva politics that Muslims youth leaders are being targeted and calls upon people to fight for the unconditional release of such political prisoners. He says that the solidarity with Usmani should grow into a united fight against the enemy of the shared culture, communal harmony, equality and democracy.

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The post AMU alumni Sharjeel Usmani arrested for allegedly clashing with cops during anti-CAA protests appeared first on SabrangIndia.

TCN News

Soon, a scuffle followed and things blew out of proportion. Instead of leaving when asked to leave for having come uninvited, the reporters and camera persons roughed up the students and even went to the extent of calling them terrorists and  allegedly using the same words while reporting live calling the AMU as University of terrorists. Though the reporter denied having used the derogatory term in her Twitter account, Sharjeel Usmani, a student leader, wrote an open letter to the media on his Facebook wall in which he has mentioned the details of the incidents sequence wise. The AMU administration has taken cognizance of all these events and have sent applications to file two separate FIRs regarding the incident. In their press release the administration has also assured to take a disciplinary action against the students who damaged property. 
The police have registered a case against 14 students of the university based on a complaint filed by Mukesh Lodhi, BJP youth wing leader. All the 14 students have charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for rioting, causing hurt including sedition, which is the gravest of all charges. The FIR also mentions that the students shouted anti-India and pro-Pakistan slogans.  

However the police have not taken any action on the complaint filed by the students. But the students are undeterred and are demanding that action be taken based on the complaint letter filed by them
 

I reached the campus at 9.30 am for attending my classes. All was well back then. Few students were organizing a picture exhibition of the all victims of hate crimes in front of History department. First Asifa memorial lecture was scheduled at 11 am in Cultural hall of Maulana Azad Library; Films on Palestinian struggle were to be screened in Kennedy auditorium at 4:30 pm.

I got a call from a friend that Republic TV reporters are creating a problem in front of the Social Science department. I reached there as soon as I could. There were about 20 to 25 students were standing there confused. There were two male cameramen from Republic, and two female reporters. I went and respectfully asked the first cameramen to stop the recording and move out. I said, ‘I know it is your job to do this but we don’t want you here, please leave’. The cameraman was a gentleman, and immediately detached his camera from the monopod. Things were peaceful until this reporter came to me and shouted, ‘who the fuck are you to tell me what to do, we are not leaving. We have been invited by the union President’.

‘With due respect, Ma’am, I am afraid you are mistaken, I have confirmed it with the union president and the university Public Relations Officer, you are not invited here. Please leave’, I replied. The cameraman interrupted saying, ‘Dekho kaise fadta hu tum logon ki’ and he signalled the reporter to start reporting and she went, ‘We are reporting live from the university of terrorists. It seems the students are trying to attack us.  AMU is showing its colour (pointing to the students who were standing there to see the scene)’.

I along with another seniors immediately went to the cameraman and tried to stop him from recording. He literally pushed me back and stabbed me with his pen, shouting and abusing. The other two female reporters went strangely very loud and started telling us that we are manhandling her. One of them came really close to us, and then got into an argument with Anas bhai ( another member of student union). ‘We are not going to get intimidated by you terrorists’, she said.

The university’s security officers had reached there by then and intervened. The security officer was an old man, and other reporter was shouting at him disrespectfully which agitated me and others. I went straight to her pointed her to leave immediately. I won’t lie, I said ‘Bahut hua apka, get the fuck out of here now!’

Photo from Sharjeel’s FB wall

All this was happening in front of the social science department. As they were moving towards the gate they stopped near the department of Mass communication and started reporting with the camera pointed towards the students. Since this was happening on the road, the people passing by stopped to see what was happening. Student Union Cabinet member Gowtham K bhai went up to  and asked them to stop recording and leave. But Gowtham bhai was abused and manhandled.

One boy pushed the reporter and kicked him. Few more students followed but they were stopped by Anas bhai and Gowtham bhai. The students were shouting, ‘Go Back’, ‘Maaro’ and ‘Tod do’. However nothing of that sort happened. From what I can recall, the cameraman and his camera were completely fine when they moved out of the varsity gate.

What happened outside the varsity gate was a completely different issue. I had no clue of what was going to happen next, so I went to Kennedy auditorium to prepare for the screening we had planned. After an hour or so, we got to know that Ajay Singh Thakur (Aligarh MLA’s grandson) along with members of BJP were marching towards varsity gate to stop a meeting in which they believed Asaduddin Owaisi was present. False rumours doing the round on the local TV that MP Assaddudin Owaisi is coming to this particular program at AMU following which Ajay Singh gave a statement to a Hindi newspaper ‘Owaisi jaiso ko Aligarh me nahi ghusne denge’ ( We will not allow the likes of Owaisi to enter Aligarh) which was followed by similar remarks from Hindu Mahasabha, Bhartiya Janta Kisan Mahasabhia and local BJP leaders. The truth was that Owaisi was not even invited.

When the BJP members reached the campus gate, Union members and students were already present there to stop them. One of the BJP goon fired bullet at union secretary Huzaifa Amir. The students went violent and burnt his bike. The BJP guys left for nearby market (Dodhpur) which a Muslim majority area and forced people to close down their shops. Later they went to the nearest police station demanding arrest of the students. The students on the other hand sat at the varsity gate to protest against the BJP guys demanding their arrest. The Republic team was there all the time reporting the series of events that unfolded. The police was there and did nothing. I still have no idea what was Republic doing there, unless they knew that BJP guys will come to create violence. That is all I know.

Picture: You can see the BJP goon carrying gun, and guy beside him is Ajay Singh Thakur.

Courtesy:Two Circle.net
 

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