IYC chief Uday Bhanu Chib granted bail in ‘shirtless’ protest case at AI Impact Summit

New Delhi: Indian Youth Congress (IYC) National President Uday Bhanu Chib has been granted bail by a Duty Magistrate in connection with the IYC protest at the AI Impact Summit, following his appearance in court in the early hours of Saturday.

Advocate Sulaiman Mohammad Khan said the Delhi Police Crime Branch had sought a seven-day extension of Chib’s police custody. The Crime Branch also filed two separate applications requesting five-day and two-day remand for two other accused individuals.

“The Delhi Police Crime Branch moved an application seeking a seven-day extension of police custody remand for the National President of Youth Congress, Uday Bhanu Chib. They also filed two additional applications for remand of the other accused,” Khan stated.

However, the court granted bail to Chib after finding that investigators had not provided sufficient grounds to justify extending his police custody. Khan said the Duty Magistrate, in the bail order, noted that the Crime Branch had failed to adequately explain the reasons for seeking further remand.

As part of the bail conditions, Chib has been directed to surrender his passport and electronic devices to the court and furnish a surety bond of Rs 50,000.

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Advocate Roopesh Singh Bhadauria said Chib had already spent four days in police custody prior to the hearing. According to Bhadauria, the defence was initially informed that Chib would be produced before the Duty Magistrate at 6am. However, shortly after midnight, they were notified that the hearing would instead take place at around 1am.

“We received a message at midnight stating that he would be produced at 6am. Later, at 12.30am, we were informed that he would be presented at 1am. The hearing eventually began at 1.30am,” Bhadauria said, adding that the legal team had to rush to attend the proceedings.

Earlier this week, the Crime Branch confirmed that eight individuals, including Chib, had been arrested in connection with a “shirtless protest” held on 20 February at Bharat Mandapam in the national capital during the AI Impact Summit.