MUMBAI: Advocate Nikita Jacob on Monday approached Bombay high court with a petition seeking transit anticipatory bail for four weeks in connection with the alleged ‘Toolkit’ case. Her lawyer mentioned her plea before Justice P D Naik for an urgent hearing and the HC posted it for Tuesday.
Her application says She has “not committed any crime, as appears to have been alleged or otherwise.’’ Her lawyers said the Delhi police Non-bailable warrant (NBW) was issued on the "wrong pretext'' that she was absconding.
Her application says that “on February 11, 2021, the cyber police unit, Delhi accompanied by a constable from Vanrai police station Goregaon (East) came to her house with a search warrant and seized personal documents and electronic gadgets.’’
Represented by advocates Sanjukta Dey and Abhishek Yende, Jacob in her application filed against the state of Maharashtra and Cyber Crime Unit of Delhi police, says “some trollers and bots are circulating her personal information on social media.’’
She is a practicing lawyer since 2014, says her application and she had “volunteered in an environmental movement by the name Extinction Rebellion.’’
Her application says she “learned from social media that some entity by the name Legal Rights Observatory appears to have filed a false and baseless complaint with the Delhi police and seeks to pin the blame for violence on January 26, 2021, on the applicant as well.’’
She is seeking orders to “prevent either the Vanrai police instructed by the Delhi Cyber police or any other police within the jurisdiction of Mumbai” to arrest her or take any coercive steps.
She also is seeking a direction to the investigating officer of the Delhi police to hand over a copy of the alleged FIR 49 of 2021 to her.
Her application says “she is a practicing lawyer and has apprehension that under the guise of investigation she might be arrested in a false and frivolous case.’’ She said she “undertakes to cooperate with the investigation machinery as and when called.’’
She sought relief as she said since she is a resident of Mumbai, she is unable to defend her self in the case registered in Delhi and adding “it is difficult for women to travel to other states and to defend themselves with the clout of fear of getting arrested in transit based on this frivolous/false complaint’’ and said hence she be granted transit relief to better prepare to defend herself before the appropriate court of law.