New Delhi, 28 September (H.S.): The Delhi High Court has issued notice to the Delhi Police while hearing a petition filed by Sharjeel Imam, an accused in the alleged conspiracy behind the Delhi riots, seeking permission to access research material for his PhD studies and use a computer inside prison. A Bench headed by Justice Sanjeev Narula directed the Delhi Police to file its response within four weeks. The matter will next be heard on November 2.

During the hearing, advocate Ahmad Ibrahim, appearing for Sharjeel Imam, submitted that Imam had been arrested in January 2020 when he was in the final year of his PhD programme. He said that Imam’s synopsis had also been approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Ibrahim sought permission for Sharjeel Imam to access his research material stored on a pen drive. The court asked why he did not want to receive physical copies of the research material. Ibrahim responded that the material comprised millions of pages. He clarified that they were not seeking permission to use the internet inside the prison, but only wanted access to an offline computer on which Imam could view his research material.

According to Imam’s petition, in April 2026, the trial court had directed the Jail Superintendent to consider the request. The then Jail Superintendent, through his counsel, permitted Imam to access the research material on a pen drive. However, the Superintendent was subsequently transferred, and the officer who replaced him declined to grant the permission.

Sharjeel Imam was arrested in Bihar in 2020. The Delhi riots left at least 53 people dead and a large number of people injured.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar