Delhi Riots ‘Conspiracy’: Why Bail for UAPA Accused is Significant

The bench highlighted that the definition of “terrorist act” in UAPA is “wide and somewhat vague.”

In some big news on 15 June, the Delhi High Court granted bail to three UAPA accused-Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal, and Asif Iqbal Tanha in the Delhi riots case.

The Bench led by Justice Siddharth Mridul and Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani, while granting the bail, noted that the State failed to produce evidence to show that the three accused committed a terror offense, adding that “in its anxiety to suppress dissent, in the mind of the State, the line between constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and terrorist activity seems to be getting somewhat blurred.”

However, what makes this judgment significant is the impact of the observations made by the high court.