The Delhi High Court stayed the Sessions Court order that had halted the bail of Youth Congress chief Uday Bhanu Chib in the India AI Summit protest case. The Court said there was “no application of mind” in granting the ex-parte stay and restored his bail till further hearing.
The Delhi High Court on Monday lifted the stay on the bail granted to Indian Youth Congress (IYC) President Uday Bhanu Chib in connection with the shirtless protest staged by Youth Congress members during the India AI Impact Summit held at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi.
The matter came up before Justice Saurabh Banerjee, who passed an interim order staying the decision of the Sessions Court that had earlier put Chib’s bail on hold. The High Court observed that the Sessions Court’s order lacked proper reasoning and showed no clear application of mind.
During the hearing, the Court made strong observations about the way the Sessions Court had passed its order. Justice Banerjee remarked,
“The question is, is there any application of mind. If there is no application of mind, the order has to be stayed. He (sessions judge) is recognising that only in rare and exceptional cases the stay of bail can be granted but where is the application of mind that it is a rare and exceptional case? I will be very frank with you, the order has to be stayed because there is no application of mind. Please see the order, the first line says you are asking for a stay and in the last line, he has granted a stay,”
After making these observations, the High Court issued notice on Chib’s plea and decided that the Sessions Court order would remain stayed until the matter is heard in detail. The Court clearly stated,
“In the facts of the case involved, there shall be a stay of the order passed by the sessions court,”
The case relates to a protest carried out by members of the Indian Youth Congress inside the India AI Impact Summit on February 20 at Bharat Mandapam. During the event, several activists reportedly entered the venue.
Some of them removed their shirts to reveal T-shirts carrying slogans such as “PM is compromised” and messages criticising the India–US trade deal. They also raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and certain government policies.
Following the incident, Chib was taken into custody for questioning on February 23 and formally arrested the next morning. He was produced before the Magistrate Court and remanded to police custody for four days.
On February 28, at around 3:30 AM, Duty Magistrate Vanshika Mehta granted bail to Chib after he was produced by Delhi Police. The prosecution had requested an extension of police custody, but the Magistrate declined and granted him bail.
However, later the same evening, Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal stayed the Magistrate’s bail order after an urgent hearing. The stay was granted ex parte, meaning Chib’s lawyers were not heard before the order was passed. The Sessions Court observed that it was a “rare and exceptional” case where the situation demanded an ex-parte order of stay.
Challenging this order, Chib approached the High Court.
Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra, appearing for Chib, argued that the police had filed a revision petition against the Magistrate’s bail order before the Sessions Court. He submitted that the Sessions Judge wrongly relied on the Supreme Court’s judgment in Parvinder Singh Khurana.
According to Luthra, since the Magistrate’s order was interlocutory in nature, no revision under Section 438 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was maintainable before the Sessions Court.
He also raised serious concerns about procedural fairness, stating that the police did not even provide them with a copy of the revision petition before the stay was granted. Expressing his strong objection, Luthra said,
“It is a matter of great anxiety. They did not supply us with a copy of the revision petition. The order is passed ex parte. A revision is moved; am I not eligible to get a copy? This is shocking,”
On the other hand, Additional Solicitor General DP Singh and Delhi Government’s Standing Counsel (Criminal) Sanjay Lao appeared for the police. They argued that the Magistrate’s order was not merely interlocutory. According to them, it was effectively an order rejecting police custody, and therefore, a revision petition before the Sessions Court was legally maintainable.
They requested the High Court to issue notice and allow them time to file a detailed reply before deciding the matter.
The High Court agreed to hear the matter in detail but clarified that until further orders, the Sessions Court’s stay order would remain suspended.
In connection with the protest, the police have so far arrested fourteen individuals. They have been accused of breaching security at the venue and raising alleged “anti-national” slogans during the event.
Earlier, on Sunday, Magistrate Ravi of the Patiala House Court had also granted bail to nine other accused in the same case, observing that their actions amounted to political dissent rather than organised violence.
With the Delhi High Court’s interim relief, Uday Bhanu Chib’s bail stands restored for now. The case will now be heard further after responses are filed, and the Court will examine whether the Sessions Court was justified in staying the bail granted by the Magistrate.
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