61-year-old man granted bail in R-Day violence case

New Delhi: Observing that the mere presence of the accused at the Red Fort in the evening hours cannot justify his further incarceration, a Delhi Court on Saturday granted bail to a 61-year-old man accused in a case in the Republic Day violence during the farmers' tractor rally.

In her order, the Additional Sessions Judge Charu Aggarwal also noted that no active role as an instigator or attacker on the police personnel has been assigned to the applicant in the alleged crime.

"At this stage of the matter, mere presence of the applicant at the Red Fort in the evening hours cannot justify his further incarceration as he is already in JC since February 7, investigation qua him is already completed," the court order read.

The counsel for the accused, one Sukhdev Singh, had argued that the accused had been falsely implicated in the case and that no active role had been assigned to him in the alleged crime. The lawyer further submitted that the accused was only present at the Red Fort in the evening hours of January 26 and at 9:30 pm, he left from there, adding that the accused was not a member of the unlawful assembly.

Meanwhile, the prosecution, opposing the bail plea, argued that the accused along with other protestors reached the Red Fort in the evening hours of January 26 to make it the new site of their protest but when their leaders did not reach there, the applicant along with his other associates left the spot. The prosecution further argued that the accused was a member of the unruly mob which broke all the rules and regulations of the protest and broke and damaged the public property.