New Delhi, 06 October (H.S.): The Patiala House Court has granted bail to 17 people, including journalists covering a protest and Youth Congress workers who were demonstrating against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of “vote theft.” Judicial Magistrate First Class Animesh Kumar passed the bail order late on October 5.

The court ordered the release of all 17 accused on personal bonds of Rs 15,000 each. The court observed that while peaceful protest is a right of every individual, the alleged injury caused to police personnel deployed on duty was a matter of concern.

The Delhi Police produced the journalists and Youth Congress workers before the Patiala House Court following their arrests. The police sought 14 days of custody, which was opposed by advocate Saimon Farooqui.

Farooqui submitted that around 50 people had been participating in the protest, but only 17 were arrested. He also pointed out that no CCTV footage relating to the incident had been produced. Farooqui argued that the accused were young people who were exercising their democratic right to dissent and protest.

He further submitted that several of the accused had sustained injuries, but they were neither medically examined immediately after the incident nor taken to a nearby hospital.

During the court proceedings, two of the accused also alleged that they had been assaulted while in police custody at the police station. Following the allegations, the court sought a report from the Deputy Commissioner of Police concerned and directed that the CCTV footage from the Sansad Marg Police Station be preserved.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar