Court Grants Police Custody of Four Youth Congress Protesters

A court in Delhi has granted police five days of custody for four members of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC), who were arrested during a demonstration at the AI Impact Summit. The protest occurred in response to the India-U.S. trade agreement. Judicial Magistrate Ravi of the Patiala House Court presided over the case and approved the police's request for the accused to be held for interrogation. The individuals detained include Krishna Hari, the national secretary of the Youth Congress from Bihar; Kundan Yadav, the IYC state secretary from Bihar; Ajay Kumar, the IYC state president from Uttar Pradesh; and Narasimha Yadav from Telangana. The police have alleged that the protesters raised anti-national slogans and wore T-shirts featuring provocative images of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the event. In their plea, authorities described the actions as 'serious misconduct,' highlighting attempts by the protesters to obstruct police efforts that resulted in injuries to three officers. The police stated that custody was necessary to recover the protesters' mobile phones and to uncover details regarding the purported 'conspiracy' behind their actions, including the funding sources and the printing location of the T-shirts. In a counter-argument, the legal representative for the detained IYC members opposed the request for custody, asserting that the individuals were exercising their constitutional right to peaceful protest. He argued that their arrest compromised the integrity of democratic values. The incident has sparked discussions on the bounds of protest rights in India amidst ongoing tensions about political expression and law enforcement responses to dissent.