Court Grants Bail to Law Students in SC Disruption Case
The court was hearing bail pleas of Singh, a third-year law student of Lucknow University who appeared as petitioner-in-person, and Bhan, a second-year law student from Raebareli.
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court has granted bail to two law students arrested for allegedly disrupting a Supreme Court hearing, assaulting security personnel and using abusive language.
Judicial Magistrate Ravi granted bail to Prabal Pratap Singh, 24, and Chander Bhan, 23, on furnishing bail and surety bonds of ₹25,000 each, along with conditions including joining the investigation or trial as required and maintaining strict decorum in future proceedings.
The court was hearing bail pleas of Singh, a third-year law student of Lucknow University who appeared as petitioner-in-person, and Bhan, a second-year law student from Raebareli.
The magistrate observed that the allegations indicated conduct affecting the dignity of the apex court, but said such behaviour could not justify prolonged pre-trial detention. “A litigant, howsoever aggrieved by the outcome of his cause or howsoever unrepresented, does not thereby acquire licence to hurl papers in open court or direct abusive language at the presiding authority, much less at the office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI), an institution that stands as the final guarantor of the very rights and liberties that every citizen,” the court said.
It added, “An institution of the stature and permanence of the Supreme Court is not diminished by the intemperate conduct of a single agitated, unrepresented litigant, and it is only appropriate that subordinate courts, in assessing the consequences that ought to flow from such conduct at the stage of bail, be guided by the same institutional restraint and equanimity that the highest court itself has demonstrated.”
The court said the conduct alleged was “not condoned and is unequivocally deprecated”, but emphasised that bail decisions must be guided by established principles. It noted that the offences alleged carry a maximum punishment of two years, the investigation has been completed, and no custodial interrogation is required.
“No material has been placed before this court to show that either accused is required for any further investigative purpose. It is well settled that bail is the rule and jail the exception, more so in offences that do not entail grave or heinous punishment, and that pre-trial detention ought not to be employed as an instrument of punishment before conviction,” the magistrate said.
The court also noted that the accused have verified addresses and there was no material to suggest risk of absconding, tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses. It clarified that the observations were limited to the question of bail and would not affect the trial on merits.
According to police, the incident occurred on July 10 during the hearing of a Special Leave Petition in Court No. 13 of the Supreme Court, where Singh allegedly disrupted proceedings, used abusive language, threw papers and used force against security staff.
