Delhi high court reserves order in bail petition plea moved by Pinjra Tod member Devangana Kalita

WHO IS DEVANGANA KALITA?

Devangana Kalita is a student and women human rights defender in India. She is one of the founding members of the Pinjra Tod, a collective of women students and university alumni from across Delhi, who seek to lessen restrictions, such as curfew, placed on female students. Since the CAA was passed in December 2019, she has played a critical role in protesting and mobilizing against the Act, on the basis that it violates the fundamental principles and protections of the Constitution of India.

ARGUMENTS OF DEVANGANA:

• Appearing for Kalita , Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal argued that Kalita merely participated in the Anti-CAA protests and did not indulge in any violence.

• There is no evidence to suggest that she can influence the witness or that she poses a flight risk.

• The chargesheet has been filed against her and is no longer requires for investigation.

• Prosecution has not presented any evidence to link Kalita with offence of instigating riots.

• She doesn’t appear in any CCTV footage or any other video, nor does Delhi Police have a copy of her speech.

• She wasn’t even named in the disclosure statement of Shahrukh on the basis of which she was arrested.

• The police did not arrest her immediately after recording the disclosure statement but waited for two days when she was granted bail by the trial court.

• Kalita is a tremendous academic and it is her right to participate in a protest for issues she feels passionate about.

ARGUMENTS OF ADDITIONAL SOLICITOR GENERAL (ASG):

• Opposing the plea. ASG SV Raju submitted that Kalita cannot claim parity with the bail order passed in other FIR against her as she is not accused for offences such as murder and attempt to murder.

• There were a lot of people who participated in the protest, it is not possible to expect the CCTV to capture the faces of all of them.

• La on unlawful assembly is clear and mere participation in the assembly is sufficient to constitute the offence.

• She was instigating the uneducated women of the area to participate in violence by giving hate speeches, her call data records her location on the date of the occurrence. It was part of large conspiracy to malign the image of India by timing the protest during the visit of American President Donald Trump.

• If she is released on bail, there is a strong possibility that Kalita would indulge in similar activities and would also try influencing the witness.

• Academic record in irrelevant for bail matters, what is relevant is the gravity of the offence, ASG Raju argued lastly.

DELHI HIGH COURT’S ORDER:

• The Delhi High Court has reserved orders of bail plea in the case registered against Kalita for allegedly instigating the residents of Jaffrabad to participate in the riots.

• While reserving the orders, Judge Suresh Kumar Kait gave both the parties time till Monday to file their written submissions.