AGENCIES
Supreme Court bench of Justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubhramanian to hear Delhi Police’s appeal tomorrow against Delhi HC order granting bail to Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Tanha.
Appeal has been filed by Delhi Police challenging Delhi High Court’s order granting bail to Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, and Asif Iqbal Tanha in connection with Northeast Delhi violence.
Earlier today a Delhi court on Thursday ordered the immediate release of student-activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita and Asif Iqbal Tanha.
All three – arrested in May last year over alleged links to the riots that erupted amid tension over the citizenship law – had remained in jail despite the High Court granting bail on Tuesday.
Today, Additional Sessions Judge Ravinder Bedi – who dismissed yesterday’s petition by the Delhi Police, asking for three more days to complete verification of addresses and sureties – noted the High Court had already passed the bail order and that release warrants had been sent to Tihar Jail.
They are expected to be released at around 5 pm. Their bail, however, has already been challenged by Delhi Police in the Supreme Court, which will hear the matter Friday.
Hours before today’s release order the three activists had approached the High Court.
“The continuing custody despite clear mandate of law, beyond 24 hours since direction to verify sureties, is illegal. Direct the authorities to release us forthwith,” the three said in their plea.
In a brief hearing a displeased High Court questioned the delays – it demanded to know why verification of Aadhaar numbers was needed and if the police was, in fact, following due process.
The High Court had said it would hear the activists’ plea at 3.30 pm, after the trial court ruled on yesterday’s bitter back-and-forth between Delhi Police and the activists’ lawyer.
The High Court on Tuesday had highlighted the distinction between the “right to protest” and terrorist activity as it permitted the activists’ bail.
There is a difference between the “constitutionally guaranteed right to protest” and terrorist activity, the Delhi High Court said Tuesday, as it granted bail to three activists arrested more than a year ago in connection with riots that followed protests against the controversial citizenship law.