A Delhi court on Sunday granted bail to nine Indian Youth Congress (IYC) activists arrested in connection with protests at the India AI Impact Summit, holding that their actions amounted to “political dissent” rather than recidivist violence or organised crime, Bar & Bench reported.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Ravi of the Patiala House Court ordered the release of Krishna Hari, Narshimha Yadav, Kundan Kumar Yadav, Ajay Kumar Singh, Jitendra Singh Yadav, Raja Gurjar, Ajay Kumar Vimal alias Bantu, Saurabh Singh and Arbaz Khan.
In a detailed order, the court observed that the protest represented symbolic political expression during a public event.
“The protest, at highest, constituted symbolic political critique during a public event — T-shirts with leadership imagery, non-inciteful slogans bereft of communal or regional taint, and transient assembly. No evidence discloses property defacement or delegate panic; exit was orderly via escort,” the court noted.
The activists were detained after members of the IYC staged a protest inside the India AI Impact Summit held at Bharat Mandapam on February 20.
Some protesters removed their shirts to reveal T-shirts carrying slogans such as “PM is compromised” and criticism of the India-US trade deal, while raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and government policies.
Delhi Police had arrested fourteen people in connection with the case, accusing them of breaching security and raising alleged “anti-national” slogans.
The prosecution argued that the protest posed a threat to national security, international relations and national integrity by disrupting a high-profile global event. It submitted that the investigation was ongoing and contended that there was a risk of the accused tampering with evidence if released.
The police also argued that the sentences under various provisions could run consecutively.
However, lawyers representing the activists argued that all alleged offences carry punishments of less than seven years, placing the case in Category A under the Supreme Court’s ruling in Satender Kumar Antil, where bail is the norm.
The defence maintained that the protest was peaceful and constituted symbolic political dissent, with no violence, damage or threat, and was protected under Articles 19(1)(a) and 19(1)(b) of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech and peaceful assembly.
Rejecting the prosecution’s submissions, the court noted that none of the invoked offences carried punishment exceeding seven years and held that prolonged pre-trial detention without investigative necessity violates the right to personal liberty under Article 21.
The judge described the prosecution’s argument on consecutive sentencing as “bereft of jurisprudential moorings” at the bail stage, emphasising that bail proceedings focus on liberty rather than speculative conviction.
“Pre-trial detention, severed from any imperative necessity and devoid of persisting investigative demands, devolves into an illicit pre-emptive punishment antecedent to conviction,” the court said, underscoring that liberty is the norm and incarceration the exception.
After considering the submissions, the court ordered the release of the nine activists on bail.
Reacting to the bail order, the Indian Youth Congress said the court’s decision reaffirmed the legitimacy of political dissent.
“The truth cannot be suppressed. Questions on the anti-India US trade deal will continue,” the organisation said.
“Our question to “Surrender Modi” ji — who accepted the anti-India trade deal — remains the same even today… Under what pressure was the deal bartered away for the rights of India’s farmers and youth?,” they asked.
