Delhi riots case: Court orders immediate release of JNU and Jamia student activists from jail after HC bail
The activists had moved the Delhi High Court for their immediate release from the jail after the trial court had reserved the order on the Delhi Police plea seeking more time to verify documents of their release.
FollowNew Delhi: A Delhi Court on Thursday issued warrants for the release of student activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha from Tihar jail after they were granted bail from the High Court in the Delhi riots case on June 15, noting that delay in the verification process by the police cannot be a plausible reason for the accused to be kept imprisoned.
The trio was arrested last year under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Pulling up the police for delay in verification of addresses and sureties, Additional Sessions Judge Revinder Bedi said, "I would say that this by itself cannot be a plausible reason for the accused to be kept imprisoned till the time such reports are filed."
The Karkardooma court also dismissed the applications filed by Delhi Police seeking more time to verify the addresses of the activists and their sureties.
The activists had moved the Delhi High Court for their immediate release from the jail after the trial court had reserved the order on the Delhi Police plea seeking more time to verify documents of their release.
While hearing their petition, the Delhi High Court earlier today asked the trial court to decide with "promptitude" and "expedition" the issue of release from jail of the trio. A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and A J Bhambhani asked the counsel for the accused and the Delhi Police to jointly mention the matter before the trial court at 12 pm.
The three student activists were arrested in May 2020 and are accused of being the ''masterminds'' of the February 2020 violence, which had left 53 people dead and more than 200 injured.
The high court while granting them bail on June 15 had observed that “in an anxiety to suppress dissent the State has blurred the line between right to protest and terrorist activity” and if such a mindset gains traction, it would be a "sad day for democracy".
Meanwhile, the Delhi Police has moved the Supreme Court challenging the high court judgements granting them bail in the case.
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