Delhi HC grants bail to Assam activist Devangana Kalita in Delhi Riots Case

Guwahati: Devangana Kalita from Assam was finally granted bail by the Delhi High Court on Tuesday, 1 September, in a case related to the Delhi Riots filed against her.

The order was pronounced by the single-judge bench of Justice Suresh Kumar Kait after it was reserved in August. The FIR in the case – No. 50/2020 – accused her of instigating people from Jaffrabad, where there was an anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protest, to join the riots.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on Kalita's behalf, had argued that the trial court had only said that Kalita participated in anti-CAA protests and not that she instigated any violence.

The bail is subject to Kalita furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one surety of the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial court.

The 'Pinjra Tod' activist was arrested by the Delhi Police on 23 May in connection with anti Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in northeast Delhi's Jafrabad area in February. The Assam girl been named as a key conspirator of the violence and was lodged in the Tihar jail along with JNU student and fellow Pinjra Tod member Natasha Narwal. The duo was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code including rioting, unlawful assembly, and attempt to murder.

She is an accused in four FIRs connected to the anti-CAA protests and Delhi riots that rocked the national capital before the coronavirus pandemic swept to Indian shores. In June 2020, her bail plea in the present case was rejected by the trial court.

Kalita had argued that there was no evidence to show her participation in the violence and that she had only participated in the protests condemning the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act that seeks to fast-track citizenship to non-Muslim minorities from the countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan.

The Delhi Police had claimed that the violence was a part of the "conspiracy to lower the country's image" when President of the United States Donald Trump was visiting India.

The Communal clashes in northeast Delhi left at least dozens dead and around 200 injured. Kalita was slapped with the UAPA in early June for her alleged role in inciting the communal riots.

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