BJP's Ashwini Upadhyay gets bail, his 'presence' questioned
New Delhi: Noting there was nothing on record to show that the hate speech at Jantar Mantar on Sunday was in the presence of or at the behest of former Delhi BJP spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay, a Delhi court on Wednesday granted him bail in connection with the anti-Muslim and inflammatory slogans raised at the event organised by Upadhyay, meant to protest against "colonial-era laws".
Upadhyay, a Supreme Court advocate, and five others were arrested by the Delhi Police on Tuesday morning in the case, which also said that Upadhyay's event "Bharat Jodo Andolan" continued despite the police rejecting permission for it.
After the arrest, a Magistrate's court had sent Upadhyay and three others to judicial custody and remanded two accused — Vineet and Deepak Singh — to two days in police custody. Apart from Upadhyay, the other five accused will be produced in court today (Thursday) for further remand.
In Upadhyay's bail order, MM Udbhav Kumar Jain noted that as far as the offence under IPC section 153A was concerned (promoting enmity between persons on grounds of religion, caste etc.), there is nothing on record "except for mere assertion".
"Even during the hearing, this Court has inquired from Ld. APP and so far, there is nothing against the accused in the alleged video," the court said.
MM Jain observed that Upadhyay is not a flight risk and granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and a surety of the like amount.
"Conspiracy is no doubt hatched behind closed doors and that the investigation in the present matter is at nascent stage," the court noted, adding that this does not imply that the liberty of a citizen can be curtailed on mere assertions and apprehensions.
At the hearing on Wednesday, Upadhyay was represented by a battery of lawyers, including Supreme Court Bar Association President and Senior Advocate Vikas Singh and Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra, who argued that Upadhyay's role can't be attributed to the "inflammatory slogans" being raised by a few persons as he had left the event way before they were raised.
"I will be the last person to defend someone for a reprehensible offence like this...he can't be arrested on mere suspicion, there is no plausible apprehension...I would not have defended myself if I was present or if I made the slogans," Advocate Singh argued.
"To make out a case under Section 153A, you have to make out the offence, why was the FIR filed so late?... Upadhyay is very respected... no justification has been given, this is an illegal incarceration," he told the court.
Meanwhile, the prosecution rebutted by alleging that Upadhyay organised the protest when large gatherings were not allowed during Covid-19 despite the police rejecting a permit.
The prosecutor stressed that the protest was held in a sensitive area near the Parliament complex and that the gathering was an unlawful assembly in which Upadhyay allegedly actively participated, knowing the common object of that unlawful assembly.
