IT Correspondent
New Delhi, Feb 21:
The additional sessions judge Dharmendra Rana in Sessions Court, New Delhi on Saturday reserved his order for pronouncement on next Tuesday, February 23, on the bail plea of Disha Annappa Ravi (Disha Ravi), a 22-year-old climate activist from Bengaluru, Karnataka accused by Delhi Police of creating a toolkit to help the farmers protesting against the Centre’s controversial farm laws.
She was arrested from Bengaluru on February 13 by a cyber cell team of Delhi Police, brought to Delhi and booked for sedition and other charges. A trial court on Friday had sent her to a 3-day judicial lockup after her 5-day police custody expired. A bail application was filed on her behalf by her lawyer Sidharth Agarwal.
The judge, had his own doubts on the case built by police as he pointedly asked: “Is there any evidence or are we acting on the basis of surmises and conjectures?”. He sought evidence linking the toolkit used by her with the violence in Delhi on the Republic Day when additional solicitor general S.V. Raju claimed on behalf of police that the document by her has to be read with hashtags and links to show all were meant to “instigate people to come on street and create a public disorder.”
Delhi Police vehemently opposed the bail plea filed by Disha on Friday, while her lawyer rubbished all the charges and wondered how the sedition charge be levelled against her that was not even slapped on those indulging in violence on January 26.
Disha through her lawyer said “If highlighting farmers’ protest globally is sedition, I am better in jail.” Her lawyer asserted that, the police should not have arrested her since it has no evidence to show that the toolkit on farmers’ protest is responsible for the violence in Delhi on January 26. He said none of those arrested for the Red Fort violence has said that he was inspired because of the toolkit. He also questioned the FIR, wondering if one can be accused of targeting “Yoga” and “Chai”. He said the talk of alleged genocide in Kashmir has been going on for years and it can’t suddenly become sedition.
The additional solicitor general countered: “This was not just a toolkit. The real plan was to defame India and create unrest in the country.” He said Disha knew the legal actions in store for her and that is why she deleted WhatsApp chats, emails and other evidence. Why did she cover her tracks and delete evidence if she did not commit any wrong? he asked.
Claiming a sinister design behind the toolkit, he said Disha was “part of the Indian chapter of the global conspiracy to defame India and create unrest in the garb of farmers’ protest and that is why she was in touch and preparing and sharing the toolkit with those advocating Khalistan.
Greta Thunberg tweets in solidarity with Disha
In another development climate activist Greta Thunberg pledged solidarity with Disha with her tweet “ The freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest and assembly are non-negotiable human rights. These must be a fundamental part of any democracy.’’
Retired judges’ back Delhi Police’s action in Disha Ravi case
In the meanwhile, a group of former members of the judiciary and law-enforcement agencies have written to President Ram Nath Kovind, saying that in the case of Disha Ravi, age is immaterial, and what matters is the series of actions that are “naturally anti-national”.
Slamming those criticising the arrest of activist Disha in the toolkit case, they said that those with “vested interests” are doing so to hide their “anti-national” activities and indulging in “slander” against Delhi Police.
In a letter to the President of India, a forum of concerned citizens from judicial and law enforcement backgrounds said that they are very agitated by the unsubstantiated allegations through social media with regard to the arrest of Disha, by the Delhi Police.
Defending the police action, they said information available on open sources clearly establish that the toolkit document contains the list of persons or groups to be followed having “linkages with ISI and Khalistani groups”. They urged the central government to ensure that Delhi Police is able to do its investigation in a free and fair manner without any undue pressure to bring to book all those who allowed themselves to be used by “secessionist” forces in India and abroad.
The 47 signatories to the representation to the President include former Rajasthan chief justice and governor V S Kokje, former Delhi and Patna high courts’ chief justice Rajendra Menon, former Punjab DGP P C Dogra, former CBI director Nageshwar Rao and former Kerala DGP R Padmanabhan.
“It is sickening to note that a few Indian citizens have actively engaged with banned elements and organisations who coordinated a plan to organise protests in front of all Indian embassies, high commissions and consul-general offices in leading cities in the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe to defame the Indian government. They not only attempted to undermine the confidence the Indian expatriate community and PIOs have in the present government, but also tried to mislead elected representatives of these foreign governments which is prejudicial to friendly relations of our nation with these countries.
