India, Jan. 9 -- Student activist Sharjeel Imam on Thursday told a Delhi court that he had withdrawn from the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) well before violence broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020, arguing that several co-accused had asked him to step away because they said his speeches were giving a "communal colour" to the movement and could harm it.

Appearing before additional sessions judge Sameer Bajpai at Karkardooma Courts, Imam's counsel, advocate Talib Mustafa, argued that the prosecution's case showed that Imam was sidelined midway through the agitation and had no role in any alleged conspiracy behind the February 2020 riots.

"The accused thought that the protest was turning communal and that I...