The Delhi High Court has granted bail to eight people, who were arrested in a case related to the protest and the vandalism outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in March, saying their continued detention in judicial custody is clearly not required for proper investigation of the offences.
The high court said there is no allegation of damage to public property through arson and fire or other means and noted that the accused have been in custody for 14 days and the evidence collected is such that there is no possibility of the applicants tampering with the evidence or inducing or threatening any witness.
Others who had been identified in photos have been issued notices under Section 41A (of the) CrPC and are also participating in the investigations. Thus, the continued custody of the applicants (accused) in jail is not called for only because some investigations are still going on, Justice Asha Menon said in an order passed on Tuesday.
The court granted them bail on furnishing a personal bond and a surety bond each for a sum of Rs 35,000 and directed them not to leave Delhi without intimating the SHO concerned and they shall not go beyond the NCR region without permission after commencement of trial.
It also directed them not to directly or indirectly contact the complainant or any other witnesses and said any such attempt shall be construed as an attempt at influencing the witnesses.
The applicants shall drop a pin location on Google Maps so that the location of the applicants is available to the Investigating Officer, it said.
The eight people, who were arrested on March 31, had approached the high court for relief after their bail pleas were dismissed by the trial court.
On March 30, protestors, led by BJP Yuva Morcha national president and MP Tejasvi Surya, were holding a demonstration against Kejriwal's remarks on the controversial movie 'The Kashmir Files', which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Valley after the outbreak of militancy.
The chief minister's residence is located at 6, Flag Staff Road. The protest started around 11.30 am on March 30.
The Delhi Police had said proper arrangements were put in place but some 15-20 protestors managed to reach the Flag Staff Road.
They were immediately removed, police had said.
Some protesters, around 1 pm, breached two barricades and reached outside CM House where they created a ruckus and shouted slogans, police had said.
Regarding the investigation, the high court, in its 14-page common order, said the witnesses are the policemen who were on duty and the staff of the CM residence and the CCTV footage, which has been preserved.
There is no dispute that others have been issued notices under section 41A of the CrPC, pursuant to which, they are joining investigations. Thus, the continued detention of the applicants in judicial custody is clearly not required for proper investigation of the offences, it said.
The court found force in the contention of counsel for the accused that when as per the FIR, the barricades were jumped over by the applicants in the presence of the police, they could have been arrested then and there but they were arrested subsequently at night around 9.00 or 9.30 P.M from their homes.
The FIR itself records that initially, the protestors gathered outside the I.P. College and that as the crowd swelled the members of the Bhartiya Janta Yuva Morcha started moving forward but significantly there is no mention of any weapon or arms nor of any call for violence. The FIR merely states that the applicants jumped the barricades.
"It is also stated that the police sought to reason with them but they did not listen to the police and kept moving towards the CM Residence. There is a reference to jostling, during which some policemen have received injuries. Four policemen stated to be injured are not hospitalised. Their MLCs have also been collected, only the opinion in respect of two policemen, is awaited, it said.
The court said concerning the damage caused to public property, which cannot be at any stage certainly overlooked, but the facts are to be considered to reckon what damage has been caused.
Here, the allegations are that the protestors have vandalised some of the CCTV cameras and an arm of a boom barrier and had also smeared paint on the main gate of the CM residence. There is no allegation of damage to public property through arson and fire or other means on a scale that would clearly be a far more serious matter than what has been alleged against the applicants. The applicants are mostly in their twenties except for three who are older, it said.
