NEW DELHI: A court here on Tuesday granted a week’s time to the Delhi Police to file reply to the anticipatory bail plea filed by Nikita Jacob, a Mumbai resident and co-accused along with Disha Ravi in connection with the alleged “toolkit conspiracy” related to the farmers’ protest.
Additional Sessions Judge Dharmender Rana allowed the police plea to grant it time till March 9 after the public prosecutor said the police force needed time to file a detailed reply to Jacob’s petition. The court is scheduled to hear the anticipatory bail plea of another co-accused, Shantanu Muluk, on March 9.
During the brief hearing held through video conferencing, senior advocate Rebecca John, appearing for Jacob, said she wanted to argue on her plea as a stand alone case and not with Muluk’s. The court said she could argue on March 9.
The court also directed the Delhi Police to hand over a copy of its reply to Jacob’s bail plea to her counsel. Jacob had got transit anticipatory bail from Bombay High Court on February 17 for three weeks, so that the accused could approach the court concerned in Delhi, where the case is lodged.
The court on February 25 granted protection from arrest to Muluk’till March 9. Muluk was granted transit anticipatory bail by the Aurangabad bench on February 16 for 10 days. He approached Delhi court on February 23.
Muluk, Ravi and Jacob were booked for alleged sedition and other charges. Ravi was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the Delhi Police from Bengaluru and brought to Delhi. She was granted bail by the Delhi court on February 23.
Ghazipur border closed after being opened briefly
The Delhi Police on Tuesday afternoon closed the Ghazipur border again, hours after it reopened a portion of NH-9 for traffic movement, officials said. The stretch was closed since January 26 when violence broke out during the farmers’ tractor parade in the national capital on Republic Day. The one side of the road which goes towards Ghaziabad from Delhi was opened for traffic in the morning. Thousands of farmers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, have been camping at the Delhi border points — Singhu, Tikri and Ghazipur — demanding a repeal of the three farm laws enacted by the Centre.