A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to six people accused of scuffling with police and raising pro-Naxal slogans during a protest against air pollution at India Gate last month, while rejecting the bail pleas of four others for what it called their “active” role in the alleged conspiracy.
The order, passed by judicial magistrate first class Aridhaman Singh Cheema at Patiala House Courts, comes two days after the same court granted bail to 10 people and denied it to one other. With Friday’s ruling, the bail petitions of three more accused remain pending; 23 people were initially sent to judicial custody in the case.
Dismissing the bail plea of one of the accused, Ayishah, the judge, in a common observation, noted that investigators had identified her as one of the key organisers of the protest and an active sympathiser of Hidma.
The court said that “as the conspiracy is hatched in secrecy, the role of more persons… cannot be ruled out at this stage,” adding that Ayishah was allegedly linked to the Radical Students Union (RSU), described as a banned Maoist frontal organisation. The court said releasing her could risk a repeat offence, or allow her to alert other RSU members, jeopardising the investigation.
In contrast, while granting bail to six others, the court held that there was “nothing on record” to indicate that they belonged to any radical outfit or had participated in the planning of the protest beyond being present at the site.
The protest was held on November 23 when students from Delhi University and other institutions gathered at India Gate under the banner of the Delhi Coordination Committee for Clean Air. Police said the demonstration had no permission and turned confrontational when officers tried to disperse the crowd. Five students were arrested initially, followed by 17 more outside Parliament Street police station.
A second round of arrests came on November 28, when eight students were re-detained in a fresh FIR at Kartavya Path police station – hours after securing bail in the original Parliament Street case. The other 15, who had also received bail in the first FIR, were likewise remanded in the Kartavya Path case, preventing their release.
Police alleged that protesters had raised pro-Naxal slogans, while defence counsels dismissed the claims, arguing that there was no material linking the accused to Naxal organisations. They also contended that the offences carried a maximum punishment of less than seven years, making bail the rule rather than the exception.