A Judicial Magistrate at Patiala House Courts, New Delhi, has ordered the immediate release of students arrested in connection with a protest linked to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), holding that continued incarceration after grant of bail cannot be justified merely due to pending verification of addresses and sureties.

The order was passed by Ravi, Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC-07). The accused, stated to be students, had been granted bail on 27 February 2026 on merits, subject to furnishing bonds of ₹25,000 each with one surety and verification of permanent addresses after it emerged that some accused had initially misstated their particulars.

Since verification could not be completed immediately owing to the accused being outstation students and bank-related delays, the accused were remanded to judicial custody, prompting a common application seeking release pending verification.

Opposing the plea, the prosecution contended that verification of permanent addresses and fixed deposits was still underway and flagged concerns regarding the possibility of repetition of similar acts. The Investigating Officer urged that release without verification could risk abscondence or breach of bail conditions.

Allowing the application, the Court held that once a competent court has granted bail on merits, procedural or administrative steps such as address or surety verification cannot be allowed to defeat the bail order itself. The Magistrate emphasised that pre-trial detention is not punitive, and that keeping young students in custody solely due to verification delays attributable to the administrative machinery would amount to an unjust curtailment of personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Relying on the Delhi High Court’s decision in Sujit Kumar Singh v. Director General of Prisons (2024), the Court observed that delay in release after grant of bail renders the judicial order illusory, and that the State is duty-bound to ensure expeditious compliance with bail orders.

Accordingly, the Court directed that the accused be released forthwith, even if verification is not yet complete, subject to stringent conditions. These include filing written undertakings specifying permanent and current addresses, cooperating fully with verification, informing authorities of any change in residence, and refraining from participating in unlawful assemblies or protests. The police have been directed to complete verification within 10 days and file a consolidated report before the court.

The Magistrate clarified that any discrepancy in verification or violation of bail conditions would entitle the State to seek cancellation or modification of bail, but stressed that verification cannot operate as a pre-condition for release once bail has been judicially granted.

Appearances: 
Sh. Kartikey Sharma, Ld. APP for the State.
Sh. Abhik Chimni, Ms. Pranjal Abrol, Ms. Moksha Sharma, Ms. Sneha P Mandal, Sh. Sidharth Tulsi Ganeshan and Sh. Ayush Shrivastava, Ld counsels for the accused persons IO/Sub Insp. Vinay Kumar in person alongwith case file.