Eid was to fall on March 20 but, as luck would have it, got delayed by a day. They couldn’t have asked for more, says the family of Sharjeel Imam.
It meant that for the first time in six years, Sharjeel, held on stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) charges and out on interim bail, could be home in Kako village of Bihar’s Jehanabad for the festival. He arrived late on the night of March 20 from Delhi, accompanied by younger brother Muzzammil Imam.
Before Sharjeel was arrested in January 2020, Eid and Bakrid were the two times the 38-year-old, who left the village to pursue studies as a school student, would make it a point to come home. On March 9, the court gave him an 11-day reprieve on account of both his ailing mother and Muzzammil’s wedding.
In the midst of the haldi ceremony bustle at home, Muzzammil keeps an eye on the guests, including relatives who have been coming to meet Sharjeel. The bail conditions prohibit Sharjeel from any interaction with the media, posting anything on social media, and any public statements or political activities.
Muzzammil has been overseeing construction at the family home, and is still giving instructions regarding some last-minute works while fielding calls from decorators. Sharjeel sits in an inside room, away from prying eyes.
Around three years older, Sharjeel is his only sibling, and in his absence, Muzzammil has had to grow up quickly, including handling own wedding single-handedly. Their father passed away in 2014, and their mother has not been keeping well.
An uncle talks about how Sharjeel was “a very free person” before their father died. “Afterward, he assumed the responsibility of the elder sibling, supporting the family through scholarships and freelance work, helping with Muzzammil’s education.”
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When Sharjeel was jailed in 2020, that mantle shifted, says the uncle, adding that the family lived hand to mouth for some time, amidst frequent court visits. “Muzzammil has given the past six years of his life to his brother. Seeing their mother’s condition, we convinced Muzzammil to get married. A daughter-in-law would help look after things while Muzzammil is away dealing with legal battles.”
A post-graduate in mass communication from a university in Noida, Muzzammil worked briefly as a trainee production assistant but lately has been active in politics and taking up social issues.
In Kako, where Muslims form a small minority (about 10% of the population), the family is known for having changed its fortunes with hard work. Sharjeel’s grandfather was a small trader.
Their father Akbar Imam, though, was determined to give them a “top-notch” education. So, even as he moved to Patna and tried his hand at politics, he enrolled both Sharjeel and Muzzammil at the prestigious St Xavier’s School. Akbar contested two Assembly elections, once as an Independent and another time as the JD(U) candidate. While he lost both times, he was respected by top political leaders of the state, says the family.
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However, finances remained a stretch. “There were years when our parents couldn’t buy us new clothes for Eid just so the school fees could be paid,” Muzzammil recalls.
One memory of those days is especially sharp. He talks about Sharjeel and him being fascinated with shoes of Action brand. But their father would always steer them toward cheaper brands, saying these were “sturdier”.
Sharjeel’s academic brilliance was evident early on, Muzzammil says. “In Class 8, he was already solving Class 12 mathematics sums… After St Xavier’s, he moved to Delhi to finish schooling. To afford coaching, he appeared for a test at a centre, and ranked second, earning Rs 5,000 discount on the Rs 25,000 fees.”
Sharjeel cleared his IIT entrance at first attempt and did a five-year integrated B.Tech-M.Tech program in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT-Bombay.
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A relative says his father was keen that Sharjeel take up job offers in the US after IIT, like his peers. “But he wanted to work here, among the people.”
Sharjeel worked for a while as a software engineer with some MNCs, but his interests had shifted to philosophy and history, Muzzammil says. In 2013, Sharjeel took admission at the Centre for Historical Studies at the university, doing his MA, an M.Phil., before starting his Ph.D in 2017 on the 1946 anti-Muslim riots in Bihar, titled ‘Exodus before Partition: The Attack on Muslims of Bihar in 1946’.
All that came to an abrupt end when Sharjeel was arrested in January 2020, over speeches during the anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests. Beyond the immediate charges of sedition, he was named as a central figure in the “larger conspiracy” case related to the February 2020 Delhi riots. The prosecution said his speeches were part of a plan to disrupt the sovereignty of India, and he was booked under the UAPA.
As of March 2026, Sharjeel is booked in eight FIRs, across states, primarily for the same set of speeches. He has secured bail in seven of these cases but remains in custody in the Delhi riots conspiracy case, which involves UAPA charges. In January 2026, the Supreme Court denied his regular bail plea. Earlier this month, the Karkardooma court gave him interim bail on humanitarian grounds.
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A family member questions the allegation that he was “mentored” by other activists arrested on similar charges, such as Umar Khalid.
Speaking of Khalid, the relative says he and Sharjeel were “very different people with entirely different ideologies”. “They have never even spoken to each other. Their ways of working are also distinct as Sharjeel’s focus is on constitutional inclusions, amendments and rights.”
A relative adds: “Sharjeel thought his words might land him in jail for a few months or a year, but wanted to record the issues plaguing the system. He did not expect that the entire case would be converted into a UAPA charge.”
However, the relative hastens to add, “we have complete faith in the judiciary”.
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Inside Tihar, family members say, Sharjeel has tried to continue his Ph.D research. “His theory is that the narrative of Partition being a demand of Indian Muslims is untrue… Instead, he argues that the Congress ‘imposed’ it as it was not able to accommodate Muslim constitutional demands… He wants minority rights and specific amendments in the Constitution,” he says, silent on the irony of an anti-Congress argument landing him in trouble with the NDA government.
Given the court-imposed constraints, the family is reluctant to talk about Sharjeel. But one thing they are amused about is that jail hasn’t turned off his love for food. “It was the opposite when he was a kid,” an uncle laughs. “He preferred vegetarian food then. But as he grew older, his taste buds changed.”
Today, his cravings are specific – kebabs, nihari and sweets. “In jail, he gets nothing but eggs,” explains a relative, adding that his mother kept a good quantity of kebabs ready for his short visit home.
