‘Shirtless’ protest: Not legitimate dissent, blatant assault on public order, says Delhi court

New Delhi, Feb 22: The conduct of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers arrested for protesting at the AI Impact Summit venue was not legitimate dissent, rather a “blatant assault on public order” that also hurt the country’s “diplomatic image”, a Delhi court said.

Judicial Magistrate Ravi made the observation on Saturday when the four IYC workers who were held for the “shirtless” protest at the Bharat Mandapam here were produced before his court.

The court allowed five days of custody to the police to question them. Summarising the reasons for allowing the Delhi Police’s plea seeking custodial interrogation, the magistrate said that the accused hailed from remote parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana, posing a high risk of their absconding.