Cut off Assam and the rest of the northeast from India.

What the allegations say

• According to the prosecution, Sharjeel Imam made speeches on 13 December 2019 at Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) and on 16 December 2019 at Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) in connection with protests over the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the National Register of Citizens (NRC)


• In one of these speeches the prosecution says Imam warned:
  It is our responsibility to cut off Assam. They [the government] will listen to us only when Assam is cut off from the rest of the country. You are aware of the condition of Muslims in Assam.


• Police and prosecution have claimed that the speech was divisive, addressed to a particular community, and sought to mobilise disruption (like blockade of roads) to sever the region of Assam and the North-East from India.


• He has been charged under multiple provisions: e.g., sedition (Section 124A IPC), promoting enmity between groups (Sections 153A/B), statements conducing to public mischief (505 IPC), and under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Defence / his responses

• Imam has denied that his speech called for violence. His counsel argued that his remarks did not amount to sedition since no direct call for violence was made.


• For example: “He just called for a road blockade… He did not say that the northeast should become a different state and declare independence. That would have been seditious.” — his defence in court.


• He also argued that merely being critical of government policies (CAA/NRC) or mobilising protest does not automatically amount to sedition.

Additional context

• The speeches in question came during mass protests across India over the passage of the CAA in December 2019, and in particular campus protests (like at JMI, AMU) and at the larger Shaheen Bagh sit-in in Delhi.


• Investigations and FIRs were registered not only in Delhi, but also in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh on the basis of his remarks about the North-East region.


• On 4 February 2023, a Delhi court discharged Imam in the specific 2019 JMI violence case, though other proceedings remain.