Delhi Police has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court judgments on June 15, which granted Bail to Pinjra Tod activists Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha.
According to LiveLaw, the Delhi High Court in its judgments dated 15th June found that offences under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) are not made out prima facie against the three in the Delhi riots conspiracy case. Also, there are important and significant observations made by the High Court relating to the fundamental right to protest and the frivolous use of UAPA to stifle citizens'dissent.
A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani set aside the trial court's orders denying bail to the three accused and allowed their appeals by admitting them to regular bail.
These three student leaders have spent over a period of one year in Tihar jail, even amid the two deadly waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The benefit of interim bail on account of the pandemic was not available to them as they were accused under the UAPA. After Natasha Narwal lost her father, Mahavir Narwal, to COVID last month, the High Court had granted her interim bail for three weeks to perform the funeral rites.
