Natasha Narwal was arrested allegedly in connection with the Northeast Delhi riots of 2020 and a case was filed against her under the stringent anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
Pinjra Tod activist Natasha Narwal was granted an interim bail of three weeks by the Delhi High Court on Monday after her father, Mahavir Narwal, who was a senior member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) died on Sunday evening due to Covid-19.
Ms Narwal was arrested allegedly in connection with the Northeast Delhi riots of 2020 and a case was filed against her under the stringent anti-terror law, the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). She has remained in New Delhi's Tihar Jail since May last year.
Natasha Narwal's brother Aakash was in isolation after he too had tested positive for coronavirus on May 7. Last week, an application seeking the release of Natasha was filed as her father had been hospitalised in Rohtak and her brother who had been taking care of him, was unable to do so
The division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Anup Jairam Bhambhani observed that there was nobody else in the family to perform the last rites due to which Natasha’s release was "imperative in this hour of grief and personal loss and in the facts and circumstances of the case."
Advocate Adit Pujari told the court that the hospital in Rohtak was waiting for Natasha Narwal to come and receive the body. Though the Delhi Police did not oppose the bail plea, it told the court that she should not make any tweets about the case. Natasha has been directed to furnish a personal bond in the sum of Rs 50,000 to the satisfaction of the jail superintendent. She is also supposed to submit her phone number to the SHO special cell of the Delhi Police and the Rohtak Police, under whose jurisdiction the last rites of Mahavir Narwal are to be performed.
The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.