‘Nothing wrong with seeking regime change in a democracy,’ AISA’s Neha Bora tells Delhi High Court; verdict on peace-bond notice today
Justice Subramonium Prasad reserved his verdict on AISA president Neha Bora's plea against a BNSS notice asking her to sign a Rs 10,000 bond to keep the peace. The order is due at 6 pm on Friday.
The Delhi High Court will pronounce its decision at 6 pm on Friday on a petition by Neha Bora, national president of the All India Students’ Association (AISA), challenging a notice that asks her to sign a bond to keep the peace. Justice Subramonium Prasad reserved the verdict on Thursday after hearing the parties for more than two and a half hours.
The notice
A Special Executive Magistrate issued the notice on October 17 under Sections 126 and 130, read with Section 135(3), of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). It requires Bora to execute a personal bond of Rs 10,000 with one surety to keep the peace while an inquiry is pending.
The notice points to alleged sloganeering at Mandi House, repeated protests near Jantar Mantar despite prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS, and her alleged role in urging people to join the “Lehra Do Tiranga” protest at Connaught Place on October 16.
Bora’s case
Bora says she had called only a peaceful gathering at Mandi House. According to her petition, she was detained at about 5:30 pm on October 16, kept overnight at RK Puram police station and released at 6 am the next day, the same day the notice was issued.
She argues that the notice contains no material showing that she was likely to cause a breach of the peace, which Section 126 requires before such a bond can be demanded. She has asked the court to quash the notice and the proceedings that flow from it, and to restrain the authorities from taking coercive action against her.
The ‘regime change’ exchange
Appearing for the Delhi Police, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma relied on material including a joint press conference attended by Bora at which a statement about regime change was made.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing Bora, responded that there is nothing wrong with seeking regime change in a democracy. The ASG countered that a change of government must come through the ballot, and not through what he described as “lumpen elements” in the heart of New Delhi.
The court has not expressed any view on the merits. The Daily Rostrum will update this story once the order is pronounced.
Why it matters
Sections 126 to 135 of the BNSS replace the old CrPC provisions on security for keeping the peace. Courts have held that such preventive powers must rest on concrete material, not mere apprehension, because they directly restrict the freedoms of speech and assembly guaranteed by the Constitution. The ruling will be watched closely by student groups and civil liberties advocates.
Sources
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