A Delhi court granted bail to ten students arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly raising slogans in support of Maoist leader Madvi Hidma during a protest against rising air pollution at India Gate. The decision was reported by Bar and Bench on Tuesday.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Aridaman Singh Cheema of the Patiala House Courts granted bail to students including Aatreya Chaudhary, Prakash Kumar Gupta, Vishnu Tiwari, Shreshth Mukund, Banka Akash, Ahan Arun Upadhyay, Satyam Yadav, Tanya Srivastava, and Samir Fayis.
In considering the bail application of Banka Akash, the court noted that, despite police claims linking him to a radical Naxalite organization, there was no substantial evidence supporting this allegation. “Perusal of the record reveals that CCTV footage and video clips of the incident are already with the investigating agency. The mobile phones of the accused have been seized. Nothing has been discovered against the accused regarding membership of radical Naxalite organizations. No purpose shall be served by keeping the accused in judicial custody,” the court stated.
However, bail was denied to another protester, Ilakiya. The court cited the ongoing investigation into identifying other members of the Radical Students Union (RSU), which is alleged to have conspired to turn the pollution protest into a show of support for Hidma. The court expressed concern that releasing Ilakiya could enable her to alert unidentified RSU members about the investigation, potentially leading them to evade capture.
The court emphasized that conditions would need to be placed to mitigate concerns over the potential for the accused to abscond or tamper with evidence. In granting bail to the ten students, the court reiterated that “no purpose shall be served by keeping the accused in judicial custody.”
Additionally, a bail hearing for another accused, Akshay E.R., was postponed due to pending arguments and is scheduled to resume on Wednesday, when his counsel is expected to present further submissions.
The arrests took place during a protest on November 23 at India Gate, where demonstrators gathered to demand action regarding Delhi’s worsening air quality. According to the police, the protest escalated when participants allegedly assaulted female officers, used chili spray on a constable, and shouted slogans in support of Hidma, who had been killed by security forces on November 18. Authorities claimed that protesters were directed to move their demonstration to Jantar Mantar but refused, blocking traffic while chanting slogans like “Long Live Hidma” and “Red Salute to Hidma.” The students contested the pepper-spray allegation, arguing that the police were mischaracterizing a peaceful environmental protest as an extremist act.
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