“We don’t believe in unnecessarily putting people behind bars. Bail matters should not go on and on and should not be dealt with in this manner.”
These were the words of the Supreme Court, on Tuesday, 17 January, as it heard applications filed by the Delhi Police against a Delhi High Court order granting bail to student activists Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha in the Delhi Riots ‘Larger Conspiracy’ Case.
The three activists were released from the Tihar Jail after 13 months of imprisonment on 17 June 2021.
More details? The matter was listed before a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Abhay S Oka and JB Pardiwala.
The Supreme Court had in June 2021 also passed a direction that the Delhi High Court judgment would not apply as precedent until the matter was finally decided. Thus, some of the co-accused in the case have, according to Livelaw, also filed impleadment applications pertaining to the other cases.