A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to ten students arrested by the Delhi Police for allegedly raising slogans against the killing of Maoist leader Madvi Hidma near India Gate during a protest over rising air pollution in the city, Bar and Bench reported.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Aridaman Singh Cheema of the Patiala House Courts granted bail to Aatreya Chaudhary, Prakash Kumar Gupta, Vishnu Tiwari, Shreshth Mukund, Banka Akash, Ahan Arun Upadhyay, Satyam Yadav, Tanya Srivastava and Samir Fayis.
While considering the bail plea of student Banka Akash, the Court noted that despite the police alleging he was part of a radical Naxalite organisation, no material had been found to support this claim.
“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 organisations. No purpose shall be served by keeping the accused in judicial custody,” the order stated.
However, bail was denied to one protester, Ilakiya, stating: “The investigation is pending regarding the identification of other members of the Radical Students Union (RSU) who had conspired to transform the pollution protest into support for Hidma.
“Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the gravity of the offence, and the accused’s involvement with the RSU, which is a banned organisation and a frontal body of Naxals, bail cannot be granted at this stage,” the court said.
The court added that releasing Ilakkiya now could enable her to alert unidentified RSU members about the investigation, potentially causing them to abscond.
The court noted that reasonable conditions would need to be imposed to mitigate concerns over the accused potentially absconding or tampering with evidence. Granting bail to the ten students, the court observed that “no purpose shall be served by keeping the accused in judicial custody.”
Meanwhile, the bail plea of another accused, Akshay E.R., was adjourned due to pending arguments and will be heard on Wednesday when his counsel is expected to make submissions.
The arrests stemmed from a November 23 protest at India Gate, where demonstrators had gathered to demand action on Delhi’s worsening air pollution.
According to the police, the protest escalated when participants allegedly assaulted female police personnel, used chilli spray on a constable, and raised slogans praising Naxalite leader Madvi Hidma, who had been killed by security forces on November 18.
The police claimed the protesters were instructed to move their demonstration to Jantar Mantar but refused, blocked traffic, and shouted slogans such as “Long Live Hidma” and “Red Salute to Hidma.”
The students denied the pepper-spray allegation and said the police were using it to frame a peaceful environmental protest as extremist activity.
