India Gate Protesters Granted Bail While Others Face Judicial Custody in Separate Cases

A Delhi court granted bail to nine protesters from India Gate, while eight others were placed in judicial custody for separate incidents. This follows a series of arrests linked to recent protests.

A Delhi court granted bail to nine individuals involved in a scuffle at the Parliament Street police station. However, another court placed eight of these individuals in judicial custody for a separate case. In total, 23 protesters were arrested across two incidents at the Parliament Street and Kartavya Path police stations. The arrests were linked to a scuffle and an alleged pepper spray incident at India Gate.

On November 27, four of the protesters were sent to police custody, while 13 others were placed in judicial custody related to the Parliament Street incident. Of those in judicial custody, nine received bail from Judicial Magistrate Sahil Monga, who stated that further detention was unnecessary. The magistrate noted that concerns about absconding or evidence tampering could be managed with reasonable conditions.

Judicial Custody and Legal Arguments

Despite the bail, 15 of the 17 protesters named in the Parliament Street FIR were re-arrested for the Kartavya Path case. Seven were formally arrested on November 25, and eight more on Friday. Judicial Magistrate Aridaman Singh Cheema deemed these arrests legal and ordered seven days of judicial custody for the newly detained individuals.

Advocate Sowjhanya Shankaran, representing four accused, argued that their arrest was illegal due to lack of grounds provided and failure to inform families. "Grounds of arrest were not given, their families were not informed.... They have to be released if they are not produced before a magistrate in 24 hours," she stated. She also mentioned that the advocates were not informed and questioned the sanctity of the process.

Police Justification and Previous Hearing

The police countered by stating that production within 24 hours was unnecessary as the accused were already in judicial custody. They claimed that arrest grounds were communicated and relatives informed. During a previous hearing on November 26, Delhi Police reported that some protesters allegedly used pepper spray on officers during an anti-pollution demonstration at India Gate.

New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Devesh Kumar Mahla informed the court that some protesters supported the banned Radical Students Union. He noted that certain students sang songs and showed support for this organisation on social media platforms.

The legal proceedings continue as authorities manage multiple cases involving these protesters. The courts are addressing issues related to arrests, bail conditions, and allegations against those involved in these demonstrations.

With inputs from PTI