SC Dismisses Plea Against Bail Granted to Devangana Kalita

The Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed the Delhi government's appeal against the bail granted to Pinjra Tod activist Devangana Kalita in a case related to the Delhi riots that took place in February this year.

A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan dismissed the plea filed by the Delhi government saying that being an influential person cannot be a ground for denying bail and added that there were only police witnesses in the case. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Delhi government, had argued against the bail granted to Kalita on the grounds that she is a very influential person.

The bench, also comprising of Justices R S Reddy and M R Shah, also questioned Raju as to how Kalita could tamper with the witness. The bench said it would not interfere with the Delhi High Court's earlier decision of granting bail to Kalita.

The Delhi HC had granted bail to Kalita on September 1, saying that the police failed to provide evidence showing Kalita had instigated women of a particular community during the riots that took place in February. The court also said that there was no evidence of Kalita giving hate speeches adding that she was only seen in a peaceful agitation and that it was her right to do so.

While granting bail, the HC had directed Kalita that she will not directly or indirectly influence any witness or tamper with the evidence and not leave the country without the permission of the trial court.