Nitin Raj | Image: IANS
The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to a student activist in connection with anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in 2020.
The Single-judge Bench of Justice Mohd. Faiz Alam Khan directed the release of activist Nitin Raj, the Uttar Pradesh Vice-President of the All-India Students Association (AISA) while observing that his presence and the movement “could be controlled by imposing suitable conditions.”
The State opposed his bail plea on the ground that he had participated in the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed by the Parliament in 2019, which created a law and order situation at and around a heritage site. Further, he was also accused of obstructing the smooth flow of the traffic and indulging in altercations with the local police.
The applicant Nitin Raj’s counsel submitted before the High Court that he was released from jail on March 16, 2020 in light of Covid-19. However, Nitin surrendered before the trial court on January 12, 2021 and has been lodged in jail since then.
Nitin Raj also submitted that he had been falsely implicated in the instant case, and that in the period he was released from prison, no complaint of any kind had been made against him. He contended that he is a student and has no criminal antecedents. Since the charge sheet has already been submitted, the applicant argued that there was no useful purpose of further detention.
Having heard the submissions made by both parties and having perused the record, Justice Faiz Alam Khan opined, “Nothing has been 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.”
Accordingly, the court directed him to furnish a personal bond with two sureties in the like amount to the court’s satisfaction and granted him bail.
The order may be read here:
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