NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday issued a stay on the bail granted to Indian Youth Congress (IYC) president Uday Bhanu Chib in connection with a protest at the India AI Impact Summit here, hours after a magistrate court granted him relief, saying the right to life and liberty is the "soul of the Indian Constitution".
Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal directed the stay after the Delhi Police challenged the bail order by Duty Magistrate Vanshika Mehta, and listed the matter on March 6 for further proceedings.
Chib was produced before the magistrate at around 1 am at her official residence after his four-day police custody, granted on February 24 following his arrest in connection with the February 20 'shirtless protest', came to an end.
The police sought a three-day extension of his custody, contending that further interrogation was required to ascertain the whereabouts of two co-accused.
Dismissing the plea, the magistrate court said the right to life and liberty is the "soul of the Indian Constitution" and that to curtail liberty, a strong explanation or material evidence must be placed on record to show that denial of custody would impede the course of justice.
In a handwritten order, the magistrate said the investigating officer was unable to provide cogent reasons for seeking further police custody.
"Being guilty or not is a matter of trial, and the law takes its own course to adjudicate such.
However, what is relevant is whether the custody of the accused is required at this stage," the court said, noting that Chib has strong roots in society and is not a flight risk.
The magistrate observed that "no person shall be devoid of his liberty on mere conjectures" and reiterated that "bail is a rule and jail is an exception".
The court directed him to furnish a surety bond of Rs 50,000 and surrender his passport and electronic gadgets.
Later on, the court also ordered verification of the documents and bonds submitted by him and said he would remain in judicial custody till Sunday morning.
However, Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal directed the stay on the bail order after the police challenged it.
On February 24, the court sent Chib to police custody for four days.
He was to be questioned about his role in the protest held at Bharat Mandapam, during which IYC members took their shirts off to reveal slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre printed on their T-shirts underneath.
The Summit began on February 16 and saw packed halls and long queues throughout, as tech moguls, industry leaders and policymakers thronged the venue.
The protesters wore T-shirts bearing the images of Modi and United States President Donald Trump, with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal.
The protesters also allegedly engaged in a protracted scuffle with the security personnel and police staff deployed at the venue.