AI summit protest: Can't deny liberty on conjectures, says court, grants bail to Youth Congress chief

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Saturday granted bail to Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Uday Bhanu Chib, who was arrested in connection with a protest at the India AI Impact Summit here, saying "no person shall be devoid of his liberty on mere conjectures".

However, hours after granting bail to Chib, the court ordered a verification of the documents and bonds furnished by the IYC chief and said he would be in judicial custody till Sunday morning.

Chib was produced before Duty Magistrate Vanshika Mehta at her official residence around 1 am as his four-day police custody, granted by the court on February 24, came to an end.

The Delhi Police sought an extension of Chib's custody by three more days. The court dismissed the plea and said the "right to life and liberty is the soul of the Indian constitution".

In a hand-written order, the magistrate said, "It is axiomatic that bail is a rule and jail is an exception. Right to life and liberty is the soul of the Indian Constitution. No person shall be devoid of his liberty on mere conjectures or primarily because the co-accused persons are yet to be arrested."

The court also noted that the investigating officer (IO) was not able to provide cogent reasons to have Chib under police custody for three more days.

"Being guilty or not is a matter of trial and law takes its own course to adjudicate such. However, what is relevant is whether the custody of the accused is required at this stage. The accused person is the national president of the Indian Youth Congress, has strong roots in the society, hence, he is not at high risk," it said.

The public prosecutor argued that Chib's further custody was required to ascertain the whereabouts of two other co-accused and arrest them.

Chib's counsel contended that Article 21 is the soul of the Constitution and protects the liberty of every individual.

The court said to curtail liberty, a strong explanation must be put forth, or evidence must be shown to establish that the denial of custody could impede the course of justice.

"It can be argued that to enhance the breath of justice, proper investigation is sine qua non. However, in the length of the arguments, the IO was not able to explain as to why the PC is required for investigation and for what purpose," it said.

"Personal liberty is a cherished constitutional value and its deprivation must be justified strictly in accordance with law and particularly, where the accused is cooperative in the investigation. It is an admitted case of the State that accused Uday participated and appeared upon the notice," the court added.

It directed the IYC president to furnish a surety bond of Rs 50,000 and surrender his passport and electronic gadgets.

However, the court sent another accused in the case, Bhudev Sharma, to police custody for three days.

"Accused Bhudev Sharma was present at the site of the protest. The investigation is at a nascent stage, allegations are serious in nature, hence, his custody is imperative. Accordingly, accused Bhudev Sharma is remanded in three days' police custody, to be produced before MM (metropolitan magistrate) on March 2," the court said.

On February 24, the court sent Chib to police custody for four days. He was to be questioned about his role in the protest held at Bharat Mandapam, during which IYC members took their shirts off to reveal slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre printed on their T-shirts underneath.

The summit began on February 16 and saw packed halls and long queues throughout, as tech moguls, industry leaders and policymakers thronged the venue.

The protesters wore T-shirts bearing the images of Modi and United States President Donald Trump, with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal.

The protesters also allegedly engaged in a protracted scuffle with the security personnel and police staff deployed at the venue.