AI Summit Protest: IYC's Nigam Bhandari gets interim bail till Mar 24

The Patiala House Court has granted interim bail until March 24 to Indian Youth Congress (IYC) general secretary Nigam Bhandari in the AI Summit Protest case, with conditions to cooperate in the investigation and not leave the country.

The Patiala House Court on Friday granted interim bail to Indian Youth Congress (IYC) general secretary Nigam Bhandari in the AI Summit Protest case. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Prashant Sharma granted interim bail to Bhandari till March 24 and directed him to coordinate in the investigation and to appear before the Investigation Officer as and when called for investigation.

The court has also imposed other conditions upon Nigam Bhandari, including that he shall keep his mobile phone switched on, shall not leave the country without permission, shall not contact the complainant and shall not tamper with the evidence.

Defence Arguments

Senior advocate Rebecca John, along with Advocate Rupesh Singh Bhadauria, appeared for Nigam Bhandari. It was argued that Bhandari was not present at the spot and had no role in the present matter. The counsel for the accused also argued that a notice has not been served to Nigam Bhandari, though it is mandatory in terms of supreme court judgement. It was also submitted that "all offences alleged in the FIR are punishable for less than 5 years." They also argued that raising slogans doesn't attract Section 196 and 197 of BNS.

Prosecution's Opposition

On the other hand, Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) Atul Shrivastav opposed the anticipatory bail plea and submitted that "when custody of a person is required for investigation, serving a notice is not necessary." APP Shrivastav also referred to the situation that arose in Himachal Sadan last week. He said that police had gone there as there was information that Bhandari was there.

Case Background and Police Stance

On Thursday, Patiala House Court had reserved an order on the anticipatory bail plea of Indian Youth Congress General Secretary Nigam Bhandari in the case. Earlier, Delhi Police had argued that this case involved a protest at an International event. It involves natural security, sovereignty of the state. There was a conspiracy to defame the country at the international level. (ANI)

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