A court in New Delhi on Sunday ordered the immediate release of 14 students from Jawaharlal Nehru University who were arrested after attempting to march to the federal education ministry, local media reported.
The students were detained on Thursday when they sought to protest against Vice Chancellor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit and demand her resignation over remarks they described as casteist. More than 50 students were taken into custody, according to Press Trust of India.
A magistrate court had granted bail to the 14 students on Friday but made their release conditional on verification of their permanent addresses, legal news portal Bar and Bench reported. The court said some of the students had allegedly concealed or misstated their identities and had not provided details of relatives or friends to be informed of their arrests.
On Sunday, Duty Magistrate Ravi of the Patiala House Court heard a petition challenging the conditions attached to the bail order, The Indian Express reported.
Ravi said that if outstation address verification were allowed to prolong detention without clear limits or alternative safeguards, the grant of bail could become ineffective. Once a court reaches a considered conclusion that an accused deserves bail on merits, verification of addresses and surety bonds, though important, is a procedural step to ensure compliance and future presence, he said.
Such procedural requirements “cannot be allowed to operate in such a manner that the accused continue to remain in custody for an unduly long period for reasons not attributable to them,” the judge said, according to Bar and Bench.
The court modified the earlier bail conditions and directed that the students be released, ruling that address verification would not be a precondition for their release.
The protest was sparked by comments made by Pandit in an interview with The Sunday Guardian in which she said that progress for Dalits was not possible “by being permanently a victim of playing the victim card.”
The demonstrators also questioned the rustication earlier this month of five student union office-bearers for allegedly damaging surveillance equipment at the Ambedkar Library. They further demanded enactment of a central law, referred to as the Rohith Act, named after University of Hyderabad doctoral scholar Rohith Vemula, to prevent caste-based discrimination on campuses.
Clashes broke out between students and police during the Feb. 23 march. Police alleged they were assaulted by protesters, while students accused authorities of using excessive force. Several students were injured, according to the protesters.
Police registered a first information report under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita related to obstructing and assaulting public servants in the discharge of their duties.
Those arrested included three office-bearers of the JNU Students’ Union – President Aditi Mishra, Vice President Gopika and Joint Secretary Danis – as well as former union president Nitish Kumar.