Delhi High Court Seeks Tihar Jail's Response On Sharjeel Imam's Plea To Access Research Material To Complete PhD
The Delhi High Court on Monday sought response of Tihar jail authorities' on a plea moved by Sharjeel Imam, accused in a 2020 North East Delhi riots case, seeking permission to access research material in a pen drive in a computer inside jail to complete his PhD.
Justice Sanjeev Narula directed the jail authorities to file a status report in the matter.
Advocate Ahmed Ibrahim appearing for Imam told Court that the accused has been in custody since January 2020 and was in the final year of his PhD at the time of his arrest.
He said that Imam's synopsis of PhD has been approved by the UGC as well as the Jawaharlal Nehru University.
He sought permission to allow Imam to access the research material in a pen drive in a computer source without any internet connection inside the jail premises, under the supervision of jail staff.
The SPP appearing for the Delhi Police said that the prosecution did not oppose the request even in the trial court and that it was the jail authorities who objected to the same and thus their response be called.
He said that the request can be allowed under the supervision of the jail authorities if Imam can show what is the material to be accessed.
Ibrahim responded that Imam is seeking access to a total of 2132 files comprising of articles, books and screenshots of archival record. He said that the authorities can use the pen drive to upload the material in a computer with no internet or wifi and then Imam can be allowed to use the same.
The Court accordingly sought response from the Jail authorities and listed the matter for hearing next on November 02.
Title: SHARJEEL IMAM v. State