17 protesters accused of vandalism during anti-SIR protest in Delhi get bail

A Delhi court on Monday granted bail to 17 protestors accused of vandalism and defacement of public property during the protest over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, noting that they are young students and did not appear to be habitual offenders.

The 17 protestors were produced before Judicial Magistrate First Class Animesh Tripathi of Patiala House Courts in a late-night hearing.

The Delhi Police sought 14-day judicial custody, alleging that they were part of an unlawful assembly and had obstructed public space where prohibitory orders were in force. They added that their judicial custody remand was imperative as they could indulge again in violence if released.

Police alleged that the protestors manhandled officials, including a woman police officer who sustained injuries, while they were being detained to control the situation. They also broke the window glass and rear side glass in which they were kept and accordingly damaged the public property, they submitted.

Opposing the remand plea, defence counsel advocate Saimon Farooqui argued that all the offences invoked carried imprisonment of less than seven years and the accused should therefore not have been arrested. He submitted that no specific roles had been assigned to the accused and that no CCTV footage had been produced to corroborate the allegations.

The court said the allegations were serious, noting that a Medico-Legal Certificate (MLC) showed that a police officer had allegedly sustained injuries. “It should be noted that the allegations against the accused are serious in nature. One police officer has allegedly sustained injuries as per the MLC produced by the Investigating Officer,” the court said.

“While any person has a right to protest peacefully, however, assaulting police officials on duty is a serious concern which cannot be permitted under the garb of peaceful protest.”

The court noted that most of the offences are bailable and carry a maximum punishment of two years. “The accused persons are young and do not appear to be habitual offenders. They have their career lying ahead.”

The accused were granted bail on furnishing a bond of ₹15,000 each with one surety of the like amount.

During the hearing, two accused alleged custodial torture. The court directed the police to file a report on the allegations and preserve CCTV footage of the Parliament Street police station.

Farooqui told HT that four women protesters were released on Monday on personal bonds, while the rest of the accused will be released on Tuesday after furnishing their bail bonds.

The Delhi Police registered four cases and arrested 18 people on Monday following clashes between security personnel and members of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) and Indian Youth Congress (IYC) during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR exercise. The accused were booked for assault, defacement and vandalism of public property, and obstructing a public servant from discharging their duties.