A Delhi court on Monday night granted bail to 17 students and freelance journalists arrested by the Delhi Police during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Animesh Kumar of the Patiala House Courts passed four separate orders between 9 PM and 9:25 PM, granting bail to all 17 accused produced before the Court. The Delhi Police had sought their judicial custody for two weeks.

The Court observed that the allegations against the accused were serious, particularly as a police official was allegedly injured during the incident. It, however, stressed that while citizens have a right to protest peacefully, “assaulting police officials on duty is a serious concern which cannot be permitted under the garb of peaceful protest.”

At the same time, the Court noted that all offences alleged against the accused, except the offence under Section 132 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), are bailable. Section 132 BNS deals with assault or criminal force used to deter a public servant from discharging official duty and carries a maximum punishment of two years.

The Court also took into account the age of the accused and observed that they did not appear to be habitual offenders.

“The accused persons are of young age and do not appear to be habitual offenders. They have their entire career lying ahead. Therefore, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the accused persons are admitted to bail,” the Court said.

Each accused was directed to furnish a bail bond of Rs 15,000 along with one surety of the same amount.

The Delhi Police had arrested Anshika Gupta, Karishma Mehta, Sanju, Kunjal, Rudra Pratap Singh, Rohit, Aadarsh, Sunny Deol, Brajesh Pandey, Adnan Barmare, Anuj Bhagat, Buddhashil Thaware, Gajender Singh, Dharmender, Samarth Singh, Sheikh Yunus and Aman Aggarwal on October 5.

They were booked under various provisions of the BNS and Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.

According to the police, the accused were part of an unlawful assembly that blocked a public space where a prohibitory order under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was in force. The police alleged that some protesters manhandled and assaulted officials during their detention, resulting in injuries to a woman constable. They also allegedly damaged public property by breaking the window and rear glass of a bus.

The police further alleged that the accused refused to cooperate with the authorities and did not provide complete details regarding their identity, parentage and age.

Appearing for the accused, Advocate Saimon Farooqui argued that the alleged offences carried imprisonment of less than seven years and, therefore, their arrest was not necessary. He also submitted that no specific role had been attributed to any of the accused and that only 17 people were arrested from among nearly 50 protesters.

The defence further told the Court that no CCTV footage had been produced and that the accused, most of whom were young students, were exercising their right to dissent. It was argued that keeping them in custody could adversely affect their careers.

After considering the submissions, the Court granted bail to all 17 accused.

As part of the bail conditions, the accused have been directed not to commit any offence while on bail, provide their correct addresses and keep their mobile phones active. They must also appear before the Court on every hearing date and cannot leave India without prior permission of the Court.