Citizenship Act Protests: Activist Sadaf Jafar, Former IPS Officer SR Darapuri Get Bail

Activist, actor and Congress worker Sadaf Jafar, ex-IPS officer S R Darapuri, Pawan Rai Ambedkar and thirteen others were granted bail on Saturday in the case related to violence during anti-CAA protests in Lucknow. The court of Additional Sessions Judge SS Pandey asked the accused to furnish two sureties of Rs 50,000 each and personal bonds of an equal amount.

The judge had reserved his orders on the bail applications of Jafar, Darapuri and the other accused on Friday, after hearing the individual pleas as well as the submissions of the government lawyer.

Jafar and others were arrested on December 19, 2019 for protesting against the amended citizenship law in Lucknow. According to government lawyer Deepak Yadav, the Hazratganj police had booked the accused on December 19 under IPC sections, including 147 (rioting), 307 (attempt to murder), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 120B (criminal conspiracy).

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, actors Swara Bhaskar and Sushant Singh and director Mahesh Bhatt were among those calling for Sadaf Jafar's immediate release.

Sadaf Jafar, who is also a Congress spokesperson, was arrested while she was live on Facebook from the spot where the protests had gone violent.

In Facebook videos widely shared on social media, Sadaf Jafar was heard saying, "Why are you not stopping them? When there is violence, you are standing and watching the show. What is the use of the helmet? Why aren't you doing anything?"

In another video, in which her face is not visible but her voice can be heard, she is heard saying, "Why are you arresting me? Why didn't you arrest the people who were pelting stones?"

On Thursday, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court asked the Uttar Pradesh government to file its reply within two weeks on a petition seeking quashing of the FIR filed against Jafar for her participation in a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment ) Act (CAA).

A bench of justices Shabihul Hasnain and Virendra Kumar II passed the order on a writ petition moved on Jafar's behalf.

Apart from challenging the FIR and seeking declaration of her arrest as illegal, the petitioner has also demanded that the investigation in the matter be conducted by an officer of the rank of superintendent of police and under the court's supervision. The court posted the matter after two weeks for the next hearing.