Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted bail to Pinjra Tod activists Devangana Kalita, Natasha Narwal and Jamia student Asif Iqbal Tanha, who were arrested under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in connection with the Delhi riots case.

Pinjra Tod activists Devangana Kalita and Natasha Narwal were arrested a year ago in the Delhi riots case. Last week, activists and various civil society groups came together to mark a year of the arrest of women’s collective Pinjra Tod members.

Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita were arrested in May 2020 for allegedly being part of a premeditated conspiracy behind the communal violence that broke out in northeast Delhi in February 2020 during protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

In its bail order, the Delhi HC said, “We are constrained to express that it seems that in its anxiety to suppress dissent, in the mind of the State, the line between the constitutionally guaranteed right to protest and terrorist activity seems to be getting somewhat blurred. If this mindset gains traction, it would be a sad day for democracy.”

In the second wave of Covid-19 in May, Natasha Narwal lost her father while she was still in prison. She was granted bail after the demise of her father, Mahavir Narwal, to allow her to perform his last rites.

She surrendered herself soon after performing the last rites of her father and returned to the Tihar Jail, where she had been lodged for over a year.

In a statement, Pinjra Tod had said last week that Natasha Narwal and Devangana Kalita were arrested because they raised their voice to demand equal and substantive citizenship for all.

“Both of them were granted bail in every case against them yet they remain imprisoned on account of the UAPA under FIR 59, an extraordinary law which presumes guilt rather than innocence and accords the State the power to incarcerate people even before the trial commences,” Pinjra Tod had said.