Delhi HC grants bail to 5 in riots case, says law not for targeted harassment

Law should not become a tool for targeted harassment and dissent and protest are a fundamental right, the Delhi HC said while granting bail to five persons in a Delhi riots case.

"It is to be noted that the right to protest and express dissent is a right which occupies a fundamental stature in a democratic polity, and therefore, the sole act of protesting should not be employed as a weapon to justify the incarceration of those who are exercising this right," said Delhi High Court Justice Subramonium Prasad on Friday. The observation was made while granting bail to five persons, including a woman, accused in a case relating to rioting and the killing of Delhi Police head constable Ratan Lal, during the violence in Northeast Delhi in February 2020.