Delhi High Court rejects bail plea of 4 accused of desecrating BR Ambedkar statue on Independence Day

The Delhi High Court recently rejected the bail applications of three men and one woman who allegedly tried to desecrate a statue of Dr BR Ambedkar while injuring eight persons and hurling caste-based insults at them on Independence Day (Deepak v. State of NCT of Delhi)..A single-judge Bench of Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri ordered,"I found no ground to admit the applicants on bail. The bail applications are accordingly dismissed as not maintainable.".The bail applications were related to an FIR lodged against the four accused under Section 3(1)(r) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 (SC/ST Act) which states the following requirements for an offence to be carved out:(i) intentional insult or intimidation with intent to humiliate a member of a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled Tribe and (ii) the incident ought to have occurred in ‘public view’The Court was of the view that the above mentioned ingredients were met, as the incident had indeed occurred in 'public view.'.Advocate Satyendra Kumar Rai, who appeared on behalf of the accused, drew the attention of the Court to a complaint forwarded by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to the Police Station at Govindpuri, New Delhi, which related to encroachment on account of a land dispute which had been pending between the parties.Rai alleged that this complaint registered against the accused persons was done with an ulterior motive to stop them from taking any steps against the encroachment. He also alleged that the statue of Ambedkar had been installed purposefully with a similar intention.In addition to this, Rai also submitted that a reading of the FIR would not show that any caste-based remarks were hurled at any particular person, barring the word 'chamako'..However, Additional Public Prosecutor Neelam Sharma opposed these arguments, stating that the applicants not only hurled caste-based remarks, but also outraged the modesty of women and caused injuries to others. She added that as a consequence, eight persons were injured and sent to AIIMS Hospital. Sharma also mentioned that the applicants had piled up cow dung and garbage near the statue of BR Ambedkar. The same was further confirmed by a crime team who reached the spot and took photos, Sharma informed the Court..After hearing the arguments, the Court reached the conclusion that there was no ground to admit the applicants on bail..Read full order here: