Delhi High Court Orders Tihar Jail to Respond to Scholar's PhD Material Request

The Delhi High Court, sitting with Justice Sanjeev Narula, directed Tihar Jail to submit a status report on a petition filed by student activist Sharjeel Imam seeking permission to use a pen-drive stored on a prison computer for his doctoral research. Imam, who was arrested on January 28, 2020 in connection with the northeast Delhi riots, says his PhD synopsis has been cleared by the University Grants Commission and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

He requests access to 2,132 files, including articles, books and archival screenshots, and proposes that jail officials supervise the process. While Delhi Police counsel indicated no prior objection, the jail authorities had raised concerns. The court scheduled the next hearing for November 2 and reiterated that the request could be accommodated if the material is clearly identified.