HC grants bail to farmer leader Navdeep
: The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Tuesday granted bail to farmer leader Navdeep Jalbera, in an FIR registered on February 13 in Ambala.
He was booked under Section 3 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 and under Section 8B of the National Highway Act, 1956 at Ambala Sadar police station. He had approached the high court on May 8.
The high court bench of justice Sandeep Moudgil observed that challan was presented on May 20 and since he has already suffered a three-month and 15-day period in jail, the court does not find any reason to deny him bail. It also noted that the trial is likely to take a long time as none of the witnesses out of 52 have been examined so far. Detaining the behind bars for an indefinite period would amount to a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, it said ordering his release.
As per the record before the court, he is involved in as many as 15 more cases, and out of those, in six cases he stands acquitted and in three cases the investigation is still ongoing. “All the cases are on the same lines, which seems to have been registered within proximity on the same set of allegations. Moreover, all the cases have been registered in Ambala District only, which is sufficient for this court to infer that the petitioner is being dragged in all those cases falsely,” it further added.
The farmers’ unions’ plan to protest against the Ambala administration remains intact even after farm activist Navdeep Jalbera was granted bail by the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Tuesday. As part of the protest, the farmers under the banner of Samyukt Kisan Morcha (non-political) and Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM) will gherao the office of the superintendent of police (SP) in Ambala on Wednesday.
The unions said even if he secured bail, there is no clarity on when he will be released.
The 29-year-old activist was arrested with his aide, Gurkirat Shahpur, from near Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Mohali, in March by the
CIA-1 unit of Ambala police in a murder bid case registered on February 13 in connection with the ongoing farmers’ agitation.
He is a member of the Bhartiya Kisan Union (Shaheed Bhagat Singh-SBS) part of the KMM protesting at the Shambhu border for over five months now.
SBS faction president Amarjeet Mohri said, “He got bail in a case from the high court, but there is still no clarity when he will be released. We will gather at New Grain Market in Ambala City. He has been given bail due to pressure from our groups and I believe he will be released only due to this.”
Meanwhile, in view of the call, Ambala deputy commissioner (DC) Shaleen on Tuesday issued orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) and banned gathering of five or more people and any gathering within 200m of the SP office.