Noida: Remand for party organisers, another day in jail for the rest

GREATER NOIDA: The district court on Tuesday sanctioned police remand for five organisers of a farmhouse gathering that cops alleged was a rave party, even as 187 others who attended it have been languishing in the district (Luksar) jail since their arrest early on Sunday.
The 192 people rounded up from a private party, which was held at Eco Farms in Noida Sector 135 on Saturday, have tried several times for bail now, without success.
On Sunday, the police objected and the bail plea got cancelled, while on Monday, a lawyers’ strike meant the plea could not be moved. On Tuesday, the bail applications of 122 of those arrested were filed at the CJM court, but were stayed till the next hearing, which is on Wednesday.
“The court witnessed a huge footfall since all the family members of the arrested youth had come to file the bail plea. However, only 122 applications got filed in time and were later heard by the court,” said Satendra Bhati, a lawyer for one of the arrested men.
Bhati said the prospect of bail seemed positive, but the CJM stayed the release at the last moment and directed police to get the criminal history of the arrested youth in the next hearing.
If they manage to get bail on Wednesday, the 192 arrested people would have already spent at least three days behind bars.
Bhati said that the release might have been delayed due to “clerical work”.
“There will be around 192 bail bonds that will be undersigned by the CJM. Along with this, a lot of clerical work has surfaced at the tables of the court employees, which is also why the release is getting late,” he added.
The arrested people have been charged under sections 60/63/72 of the Excise Act, 268 (public nuisance), 278 (making atmosphere noxious to health) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), Section 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Section 5 (3) 4 of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act. During their four-hour remand on Wednesday, the organisers will be reprimanded on these charges. “The court has sanctioned the police remand that will begin from 10 am and will end by 2 pm. The release of others was stayed till next hearing,” said Ajay Agarwal, the investigating officer.
The arrests have angered friends and family members of the partygoers, who said that not procuring a licence to serve alcohol and allegedly procuring the booze from other states were the organiser’s mistake, and arresting ‘innocent’ guests was ‘misuse of power’ by police.