Delhi court grants bail to 9 Youth Congress members, says protest at AI summit not ‘organised crime’

A Delhi court has granted bail to nine Indian Youth Congress (IYC) activists arrested over protests at last month’s AI Impact Summit, ruling that their actions “constituted symbolic political critique" rather than “recidivist violence or organised crime."

Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) Ravi of the Patiala House Court on Sunday ordered the release of the nine Youth Congress members.

In a detailed order, the court noted, “The protest, at highest, constituted symbolic political critique during, a public event: T-shirts with leadership imagery, non-inciteful slogans bereft of communal/regional taint, and transient assembly. No evidence discloses property defacement, or delegate panic; exit was orderly via escort."