NEW DELHI: After Pinjra Tod activist Natasha Narwal was granted bail by the Delhi High Court in a northeast Delhi riots case, her brother Aakash on Tuesday said the news made him feel both sorrowful and relieved.
The siblings lost their father Mahavir Narwal to coronavirus last month.
Natasha was granted interim bail for three weeks after her father's death and had surrendered in Tihar after the bail period ended.
"I came to know at 11 pm yesterday (Monday) that the bail order was listed for today. I couldn't react at that time. I was happy that the case was coming up for hearing but was not sure about the outcome," Aakash, who is five years younger to Natasha, told PTI.
After hearing that his elder sister has got bail, Aakash said he felt "relieved".
"When dad passed away, I was extremely sad that Natasha could not speak to him. I am very sure that his last thoughts would have been of Natasha," he said.
"The news of the bail order hit me both with relief and sorrow. In normal circumstances, it would have been a celebration, but I couldn't help but think every other minute how happy our father would have been to see his daughter," he said.
Natasha was arrested in May last year along with fellow Pinjra Tod activist Devangana Kalita and booked under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in connection with the northeast Delhi riots.
Recalling the time she was out on interim bail, her brother said even though he had tested negative for coronavirus, he was not in a state to talk to her.
"It was only when her bail period was about to end, I gathered the strength to talk to her in the last one or two days. Now we will be able to have a heart-to-heart talk about our dad," Aakash said.
Devangana's mother, Kalpana Kalita, hailed the release of the duo and called it a "victory of democracy", something which Akash also concurred with.
"The bail order itself, though, was strong and powerful. After one year of injustice and tragedies, my respect and belief in the judiciary system is restored and I hope this order becomes a precedent for future court matters," he added.
A bench of justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani on Tuesday set aside trial court orders denying bail to JNU students Devangana and Natasha, and allowed their appeals by admitting them to regular bail.