The presence and the movement of a left-linked student activist in Uttar Pradesh could be controlled by imposing suitable conditions, the Allahabad High Court has noted, as it granted him bail in a case linked to the protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act here last year.
Nitin Raj, U.P. vice-president of the All India Students Association (AISA), was booked in January last year by the Thakurganj police on charges of participating in a dharna against the CAA-NRC at the Hussainabad Clocktower here. The accused including Mr. Raj were also charged with obstructing the smooth flow of traffic and posting inflammatory posts on social media.
Mr. Raj was booked under Sections 145, 147, 149, 188, 353, 283, 427 and 505 (B) of the IPC, Section 7 of the Criminal Law Amendments Act and Section 66 of the I.T. Act.
He was arrested and sent to jail but was released on March 16. On January 12, he surrendered again before the trial court and has been in prison since.
Counsel for the student activist submitted that he was falsely implicated. The additional advocate general opposed the bail saying the student activist had created law and order situation at and around a heritage site and also obstructed the smooth flow of traffic, while also getting into altercations with the local police.
Justice Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan of the Lucknow Bench, while hearing the bail plea, said nothing was mentioned in the counter affidavit filed by the State “whereby it may be inferred that during release of the applicant from prison on 18.3.2020 he has indulged himself in any unsocial and unlawful activity”.
Chargesheet in the matter has been filed.
“The presence and the movement of the applicant could be controlled by imposing suitable conditions. The applicant is also not having any previous criminal history and is stated to be student and charged offences are punishable with less than 7 years imprisonment,” Justice Khan said in an order dated March 8.
