Supreme Court refuses bail to anti-CAA activist Akhil Gogoi

Gogoi, who is currently lodged in Guwahati Central Jail had approached the top court against the order passed by the Gauhati High Court rejecting bail on January 7 this year.

The Supreme Court on Thursday refused bail to Assam-based activist Akhil Gogoi, who was arrested by the Guwahati Police in connection with violence during the mass protests organized in the state against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by Parliament in December, 2019.

File photo: Supreme Court of India. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

Gogoi, who is currently lodged in Guwahati Central Jail had approached the top court against the order passed by the Gauhati High Court rejecting bail on January 7 this year. Senior advocate Jaideep Gupta who appeared for the Raijor Dal leader told the apex court that during the agitation that broke out in December 2019, Gogoi’s organization organized mass protests. Three minor incidents of violence were reported across the state but there was no evidence to indicate that the same were at Gogoi’s behest, Gupta argued.

With 12 cases lodged against Gogoi now being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Gupta argued that the acts in question did not amount to terrorism and with the trial being held up due to Covid-19, a ground for releasing the accused on bail was made out.

A bench of Justices NV Ramana, Surya Kant and Aniruddha Bose refused to entertain the plea. It said, “Having heard learned senior counsel for the petitioner and carefully perusing the material placed on record, we are not inclined to grant bail to the petitioner at this stage.”