Student activists Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha. Organisations to which Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Asif Iqbal Tanha belong Tuesday “welcomed” the Delhi HC’s bail order and said they hoped it would lead to the bail of others “falsely” arrested under UAPA.
Pinjra Tod, to which Kalita and Narwal belong, said they hoped the duo would be able to walk out “without any restriction”. The Delhi Police has said it was “not satisfied” with the bail and would approach the Supreme Court.
“We celebrate and welcome the order… We hope this will pave the way for the bail of others implicated under similar false conspiracy charges. Today, we also remember Dr Mahavir Narwal, whose presence is sorely missed in this moment. His prophetic words find realisation in the HC order: ‘Dissent is a decent act’,” Pinjra Tod said in a statement.
“While the bail order did not materialise today, we hope they will walk out of jail at the soonest without any further obstructions… The fight is far from over as countless others still lie in jail on false charges and allegations. We reiterate our demand for the release of all political prisoners and the dropping of fabricated conspiracy charges,” it said.
SIO, of which Tanha is a member, said the trio were “unjustly put behind bars” in an attempt “to suppress the young leadership of anti-CAA movement and shift blame” for the Delhi riots.
“We are glad that the honourable court called out the hollowness of the bogus conspiracy charges against young activists. We hope that this verdict will serve as a precedent in curbing the long and unjust incarceration of innocent persons under draconian laws,” said SIO national president Mohammad Salman Anand.
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