DELHI HC DIRECTED THE RELEASE OF THE DEVANGANA KALITA, NATASHA NARWAL AND ASIF IQBAL TANHA IMMEDIATELY

Student activists Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha again approached the Delhi HC u/s 482 of the CRPC, challenging the Trial Court's action to defer orders on their release bail granted by the HC.

The Applicants contended that the additional sessions judge of Karkardooma Courts had deferred the order of the three citing "Heavy Board" after the police had sought time till June 21 to verify the applicants. The Plea further states that continuing custody of applicants even after granting bail by the HC is illegal and violates their fundamental rights.

The Delhi HC bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani rejected the argument of the Delhi Police that they need more time to verify the applicants' address and sureties. The court also observed that "it cannot be a plausible reason to keep the three accused/applicants in prison even after being granted bail by the Delhi HC". Accordingly, the bench directed the release of the three applicants immediately.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal