New Delhi: A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to all 12 people arrested in connection with the violence that broke out during the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the Seemapuri area of northeast Delhi on December 20.
The accused have been in judicial custody since December 21 on the Karkardooma district court’s order. The police allege that the 12 accused had indulged in stone pelting and violence. However, when asked for evidence, officer-in-charge Surendra Kumar said that the identity of the accused could not be verified, and that CCTV footage collected from the area does not implicate them.
Additional sessions judge Sanjeev Kumar Malhotra thus granted relief to the accused on a personal bond of Rs 20,000 each and one surety each. He also directed them to join the investigation as and when required by the investigating officer.
But the judge also attached a bizarre caveat: the accused, the bail order reads, should appear before the Seemapuri police on January 19, where officers “shall endeavour to remove their doubts in respect of CAA”.
It is not clear what provisions of law require an accused person enlarged on bail to receive ‘education’ about a government policy. It is also not clear why the judge believes police officers themselves are completely free of “doubts in respect of [the] CAA.
Also read: Juvenile Victims of Police Violence in Delhi Speak of Paying the Price for CAA Protest
The prosecution on behalf of Delhi Police has been opposing the bail plea of the accused persons. It argued that some of the police personnel suffered serious injuries during the protests, and therefore Section 307 (attempt to murder) had also been slapped on them.
On January 9, 15 people arrested in connection to the Daryaganj demonstration against CAA on December 20 were also granted bail by the Tis Hazari district court. The police, in a similar way, opposed the bail pleas of the accused even in that case, contending that several policemen were injured in the Daryaganj protests against CAA. However, despite getting two days to produce the medico-legal certificates of the injured policemen, it failed to do so.
A copy of the bail order that asks the accused to go to the police to clear their doubts about CAA.
(With PTI Inputs)