JOIN USDelhi riots: Student activists Natasha Narwal, Devangana Kalita walk out of Tihar jail on bail
Student activists Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita walked out of Tihar prison on Thursday, hours after a court ordered their immediate release in the northeast Delhi riots "conspiracy" case.
Kalita and Narwal, both PhD students from Jawaharlal Nehru University were out of jail by the evening. Tanha was already out on custody parole to write his final year BA examinations of Jamia Milia Islamia University, New Delhi.
The three student activists were not released from the prison on time over delays in verifying their addresses and sureties.
In its order for the immediate release of the trio, the Delhi court said the delay in the verification process by the police could not be a plausible reason for the accused to be kept imprisoned.
When the trial court deferred the order on their plea for Thursday, they moved the Delhi High Court, which ordered the lower court to proceed with the issue with "promptitude and expedition".
All three were arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in May, last year, in the riots case, triggered after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The HC, however, no case was prima facie made out against them under the anti-terrror law. It had also made scathing remarks against the police.
The high court, while granting them bail on June 15, had observed that "in an anxiety to suppress dissent, the state has blurred the line between the right to protest and terrorist activity" and if such a mindset gains traction, it would be a "sad day for democracy".
The Delhi Police have, however, moved the Supreme Court, challenging the high court judgement granting them bail in the case.
(With PTI inputs)