NEW DELHI: A day after the Delhi High Court granted bail to Pinjra Tod activists Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Jamia Millia Islamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha, who were arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Delhi riots case, the Delhi Police is yet to release them and has sought more time to verify the addresses of the sureties for the three.
The police on Wednesday also approached the Supreme Court while a Delhi court reserved its order on the plea moved by Kalita and Narwal seeking their immediate release from Tihar Jail. Asif is currently on custodial bail to take his BA final examinations.
In its plea seeking more time to release the trio, the Delhi Police stated, “…Since accused person namely Asif lqbal Tanha and Devangana Kalita are permanent residents of Jharkhand and Assam, respectively, the investigating agency requires time till June 21 to verify the said address and would be able to file report on June 22 before this court. Similarly, accused Natasha Narwal is a permanent resident of Rohtak, Haryana. Therefore, the investigating agency requires time till June 18 and would file report on June 19 before this court.”
The police also sought directions to the Unique Identification Authority if India to verify the Aadhaar card details of the sureties. In its Special Leave Petition challenged the high court order, the police stated that the judgment was passed without due application of mind to the evidence mentioned in the charge sheet. There is enough evidence in the charge sheet, including WhatsApp messages and social media posts, to establish the allegations of conspiracy for widespread violence, it contended.
All the three were arrested in May last year. Granting bail to them, the HC said “...it seems that in its anxiety to suppress dissent, in the mind of the State, the line between the constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and terrorist activity seems to be getting somewhat blurred”.