The Delhi High Court on Monday directed the police to not issue any statement naming Pinjra Tod member Devangana Kalita till the beginning of her trial in a case related to the large-scale communal violence in the Capital in February, Live Law reported.
The court’s order came on a petition filed by Kalita, in which she accused the Delhi Police of selectively leaking information against her to the media. The court observed that cases related to communal violence were undoubtedly sensitive in nature.
Earlier this month, the police had told the Delhi High Court that the details of the charges against Kalita were made public by members of the Pinjra Tod, a women’s rights collective, on social media. The police said their press release about Kalita, issued on June 2, was meant to clarify some claims made by the group.
The police had also alleged that Kalita was “guilty of peddling a false narrative of a political vendetta, state-sponsored pogrom, persecution and malicious prosecution. The court had, however, raised questions about the Delhi Police’s allegations.
Members of Pinjra Tod have been accused of organising the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act at Jafrabad metro station in Delhi in February. A group of around 500 women had protested against the new amended law at the metro station.
Kalita and her fellow activist Natasha Narwal were first arrested on May 23. A day later, they were granted bail in the matter by a court in Delhi. Immediately after the court’s order, the Delhi Police moved an application to interrogate the two activists and arrested them in a separate case related to the violence. They were charged with attempt to murder, rioting and criminal conspiracy.
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