NEW DELHI: The Delhi HC on Monday stayed a sessions court order that had barred the release of Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib on bail in connection with the “shirtless” protest at the AI Summit.
Justice Saurabh Banerjee observed that the sessions court “did not apply its mind” while staying the magisterial court’s order granting bail to Chib after a midnight hearing. “Issue notice…
The order has to be stayed because there is no application of mind. Prima facie, today I am not satisfied with the order,” Justice Banerjee said. Hours after a magisterial court granted bail to Chib in the early hours of Sunday, a sessions court stayed the relief.
“Please see the order. The first line says you (prosecution) are asking for a stay, and in the last line, he (judge) has granted a stay,” the High Court remarked. The High Court issued notice to the state, seeking its response to Chib’s plea, and said the matter would be examined in detail.
“In the facts of the case involved, there shall be a stay of the order passed by the sessions court,” the court said.
Chib had approached the High Court claiming that the sessions court passed its order ex parte and that the police had not supplied him with a copy of the revision plea.
“Am I not eligible to get a copy? This is shocking,” Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Chib, submitted.
The sessions court had stayed the magisterial court’s order on an appeal moved by Delhi Police against the bail granted by a duty magistrate after a midnight hearing, stating that “no person shall be deprived of his liberty on mere conjectures.”
The magistrate, however, had sent Chib to judicial custody till Sunday morning while ordering verification of the documents and bonds furnished by him. The court also directed the IYC president to furnish a surety bond of Rs 50,000 and surrender his passport and electronic gadgets.
Chib was produced before the magistrate at his official residence around 1 am following the expiry of his four-day police custody, which had been granted on February 24.
After an hour-long hearing, the magistrate rejected the police plea seeking three more days of custody.
Chib and other co-accused had entered the AI Impact Summit-2026 at Bharat Mandapam carrying T-shirts bearing images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, along with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal. They also allegedly engaged in a scuffle with security personnel and police staff deployed at the venue.
Delhi court grants bail to nine IYC members
A Delhi Court granted bail to nine Indian Youth Congress members in the “shirtless” protest case, calling it “symbolic political critique.” The Delhi Police opposed relief, alleging assault. The accused displayed images of Narendra Modi and Donald Trump at the AI Summit.
