India, March 11 -- Former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU( scholar Sharjeel Imam was not only an instigator but also one of the "kingpins" of the larger conspiracy to incite violence during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in Delhi in 2019, a city court has said, while ordering the framing of charges against the 37-year-old student leader.

The court, in its March 7 order, described Imam's speeches as "venomous," aimed at pitting one religious community against another and inciting mass-scale disruption through unlawful means.

Advocate Ibrahim Ahmed, Imam's counsel, told HT that they will challenge the order.

Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh, presiding over the case at Saket Court, observed that Imam systematical...