The Court was hearing the bail pleas of twelve accused.
Judicial Magistrate Aridaman Singh Cheema granted bail to Ahan Arun Upadhyay, Sameer Faiyaz, Vishnu Tiwari, Satyam Yadav, Prakash Raj Gupta, Shreshth Mukund, Banka Akash, Aatreya Chaudhary, Tanya Shrivastav and Abhinash Satyapati on a bond of Rs 15,000 each.
The Court noted that all key digital evidence; including CCTV footage, video recordings of the protest and the accused persons’ mobile phones, has already been seized and is with the police, reducing the risk of tampering.
The Court observed that investigators had found “nothing” indicating the protesters’ membership in any radical organisation linked to Naxalites. It added that “no purpose shall be served by keeping the accused in judicial custody,” while imposing reasonable conditions to prevent absconding or interference with the probe.
However, the Court rejected the bail plea of K Sri Ilakkiya, citing ongoing investigation into the alleged involvement of members of the banned Radical Students Union (RSU). It held that granting bail at this stage could jeopardise the probe, as the accused may alert other unidentified RSU members.
The bail plea of another accused, Akshay E R, was adjourned to Wednesday due to pending arguments.
The case arises from a November 23 protest at India Gate over rising air pollution in Delhi. Police alleged that the protesters raised controversial slogans and used pepper spray on officers attempting to disperse the crowd. A total of 23 individuals were arrested in two FIRs registered at the Parliament Street and Kartavya Path police stations. Fifteen of the 17 accused in the Parliament Street case were later rearrested in the Kartavya Path case.
Earlier, nine accused had secured bail on November 28 and the remaining eight on December 2 in the Parliament Street FIR.