The Delhi High Court has issued notices to both the Centre and the Delhi government over continued detention of a 25-year-old woman, involved in anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) protests, under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) when the Special Courts which can extend her custody have not been functioning due to coronavirus-induced lockdown.
A Bench of Justices Vipin Sanghi and Rajnish Bhatnagar posted the case for a detailed hearing on May 29.
The high court order came on a habeas corpus petition by Mr. Aqil Hussain seeking direction to produce his sister Ms. Gulfisha Fatima, an MBA student, who has been under continued detention since she was arrested on April 9.
Ms. Fatima, along with others, were initially arrested over an FIR lodged in Police Station Jafrabad for allegedly instigating a crowd to block the road near Jaffrabad metro station on February 22 to protest against the CAA and NRC.
Later, stringent provisions under UAPA were invoked against her in a separate FIR, which is under investigation by the crime branch. The Delhi Police had earlier opposed her bail application before the trial court, saying that her conduct was "attributable to anti-national activity".
Mr. Hussain stated that even though his sister was granted bail in the initial FIR in Police Station Jafrabad, she remains in custody due to the alleged charges against her under the UAPA.
As per the National Investigation Agency Act, offences under the UAPA can be tried only by a Special Court constituted under the NIA Act only, and by no other court.
The petition pointed out that the Special Courts empowered to extend the judicial custody of Ms. Fatima have not been functioning since March 23, when the first lockdown began.
"This constitutes a deprivation of the liberty of Ms. Gulfisha without due process, and therefore violates her fundamental right to life and liberty secured under Article 21 of the Constitution of India," the plea said.
The plea said that the continued detention of Ms. Fatima was without authority of law, and urged the high court to released her immediately.
