Neha Bora challenges ₹10,000 bond notice in Delhi HC, says she was not part of CJP protest

All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora has challenged a Delhi Police notice requiring her to furnish a personal bond of ₹10,000, telling the Delhi High Court that she was not associated with a separate protest call issued by CJP at Central Park in Connaught Place on October 16.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Bora, described her brief detention and the notice as “completely illegal”. He told the court that Bora had organised her own flag march at Mandi House and was not involved in CJP’s protest.

“She is not involved with the CP Central Park call, and she was dealing with her own call at Mandi House,” Sankaranarayanan said. He also argued that permission was not required to hoist the national flag.

The bench asked the advocate whether it would be more prudent to wait for the inquiry under Section 135 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to conclude before approaching the court. It also questioned the need to approach the court on a Saturday or trouble it on a Sunday.

Responding to the bench, Sankaranarayanan said, “We will come back and trouble because we have full faith in the judicial system.”

He maintained that the notice issued to Bora was “ex facie constitutionally, legally wrong” and could not withstand legal scrutiny. He further argued that the Special Executive Magistrate (SEM) had not recorded any opinion to justify issuing the notice.

Why police asked Bora to furnish a bond

A New Delhi district police officer designated as the SEM directed Bora to appear before the authority on Monday and execute a personal bond of ₹10,000 with one surety. The order was issued on October 17, the day she was released after being detained during a flag march.

The notice cited three grounds for requiring the bond: alleged sloganeering at Mandi House on October 16; repeated protests near Jantar Mantar despite prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the BNSS; and an allegation that Bora had instigated people to participate in a protest at Connaught Place on the same day.

In her petition, filed through advocate Abhik Chimni, Bora argued that the notice was prima facie ambiguous, factually incorrect and violative of Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution.

The petition stated that the notice did not provide any material or information to substantiate the alleged likelihood of a breach of peace. It also failed to specify the period, occasion or event in connection with which such a breach was apprehended.

Bora detained during AISA flag march at Mandi House

Bora began a flag march with AISA activists at Mandi House at around 5.15 pm on October 16 and was detained by police from the area. She was released at 6 am on Saturday after being held for 12 hours.

Following her release, she criticised the police action and questioned the legal basis for detaining people overnight. The bond notice was issued the following day.

The detention took place amid heightened tensions over protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the arrest of two CJP leaders.

CJP leaders sent to five days of judicial custody

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke announced a flag march on Friday evening after the organisation’s co-convenors, Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, were arrested for unfurling the national flag at Jantar Mantar the previous Tuesday. The two leaders were sent to five days of judicial custody.

The arrests came amid restrictions on demonstrations near Jantar Mantar, where prohibitory orders had been imposed under Section 163 of the BNSS.

Bora’s counsel maintained that she was participating in a separate AISA march at Mandi House and had no involvement in CJP’s Central Park protest call. Her petition challenges the legal basis of the police notice and the requirement that she furnish the bond.