E-Paper
Delhi riots: Court rejects bail plea of Pinjra Tod member Devangana Kalita
The court said there are linkages shown by the prosecution between Kalita and other accused persons and the allegations against her were prima facie true
A Delhi court on Thursday denied bail to Pinjra Tod member Devangana Kalita who was booked under the stringent UAPA for allegedly conspiring to orchestrate the north-east Delhi riots last year. The court said there are linkages shown by the prosecution between Kalita and other accused persons and the allegations against her were prima facie true.
Additional Sessions Judge Amitabh Rawat also said all the citizens of the country under the Constitution of India have the right and freedom to protest including the right to oppose any legislation, however, it’s not an absolute right but subject to reasonable restrictions.
It said that previous sanction was taken under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and thus, an independent review of the evidence gathered during the investigation has been done by an independent authority after its satisfaction about the evidence.
“The contention of the counsel for accused that the sanction was given in haste is not for this court to give an opinion on. What is important is that an independent authority has given its opinion about the applicability of UAPA in the present case,” the court said.
It noted that as per the prosecution, there were messages on Delhi Protest Support Group Whatsapp Group, particularly on February 22, 23 and 24 last year, allegedly showing the role of Pinjra Tod.
Kalita was arrested for hatching a conspiracy along with the other co-accused to orchestrate the north-east Delhi riots. The specific role for which she has been accused is for calling people to block the roads, thus resulting in the riots.
Communal riots had broken out in north-east Delhi in February last year, claiming 53 lives and leaving over 400 injured.