New Delhi: Days after Jamia Millia Islamia cancelled student activist, Safoora Zargar’s Ph.D admission, the university coupled this with “banning” her entry in the campus for unnecessary agitation on irrelevant and objectionable subjects. In a justification for this latest action, the Chief Proctor of the university said that Zargar was “using” the students of Jamia as a platform to fulfil malicious and political agenda’ which has led the university to issue the order. Zargar was a M.Phil student at Jamia Millia Islamia and the media coordinator of the Razamia Coordination Committee.
Zargar, was in 2020, was jailed under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act from April 10 to June 24, 2020 in the alleged conspiracy case of Delhi riots 2020, for making provocative speeches on February 23, 2020. She was released on bail in June 2020 on humanitarian and medical grounds as she was expecting her first child.
The university, Jamia Milia Islamia stated officially that Safoora Zargar was involved in organizing agitations, protests and marches on the campus against irrelevant and objectionable issues to disturb the peaceful academic environment along with a few outside students.
“It has been observed that Ms. Safoora Zargar (ex student) has been involved in organizing agitations, protests and marches on the campus against the irrelevant and objectionable issues to disturb the peaceful academic environment with few students who are mostly outsiders. She is instigating innocent students of the university and trying to use the university platform for her malafide political agenda along with some other students. Further, she is hampering the normal functioning of the institution. In view of above, the competent authority, for maintaining peaceful academic environment across the campus, has approved campus ban on ex student Ms. Safoora Zargar with immediate effect,” reads the order issued by the university.
Meanwhile, her Ph.D admission was cancelled by the department of sociology citing unsatisfactory’ progress in her thesis work. According to the university, in spite of being given additional chances, Zargar did not submit her Ph.D thesis, after which her admission had to be cancelled. In protest against this act of cancellation of the Phd, a section of students started raising slogans in favour of Safoora and against the university administration in the campus, accusing the university administration of discrimination. Zargar enrolled with the department of sociology in the integrated M.Phil/Ph.D programme in 2019.
Bail for Safoora
The Delhi High Court , in June 2020, granted bail to Safoora Zargar, a Jamia Milia Islamia scholar who was arrested in April and booked under serious charges of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). She was denied bail by the Sessions Court early that month and she had appealed against this order before Delhi High Court. She was under arrest since April 10, on the allegation that she delivered ‘inflammatory speeches’ on February 23 at Chand Bagh, which led to violence and rioting in North East Delhi.
In what then seemed like a sudden change of heart, Delhi Police, through Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, submitted that it was ready to release Zargar, who is about 5 months pregnant, on bail on humanitarian grounds, provided she does not indulge in activities she’s being investigated for and she remains in Delhi.
Advocate Nithya Ramakrishnan appearing for Zargar submitted that Zargar might have to go to Faridabad to consult her doctor. The single judge bench of Justice Shakdher granted Zargar regular bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs. 10,000 and clarified that the order should not be treated as a precedent in this or any other case. This means that the other accused in this case cannot place reliance on this case while seeking bail from themselves.
The conditions laid down in granting her bail were:
1. She shall not indulge in activities she is being investigated for
2. She shall refrain from hampering investigation
3. She shall take permission of the court before leaving the territory of Delhi
4. She shall get in touch with the Investigating Officer once in every 15 days through a phone call.
Justice Shakdher mentioned that he had received certain documents from the state in a sealed cover which he has not opened and which shall be returned to the Solicitor General as is. In its status report submitted to the court, Delhi Police had refused to make an exception for Zargar’s pregnancy considering the severity of the charges against her. The report had termed Zargar as ‘disposed towards creating turmoil to undermine public order and imperil national security’, and claimed that sufficient evidence has been collected to make out a prima facie case.
Safoora’s arrest even became a subject of one of American Bar Association’s reports in which the American Bar Association asked courts to uphold India’s moral and legal obligations and release Safoora Zargar and deemed her detention to be in contrast with international human rights standards.
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