New Delhi, March 11 A Delhi court on Wednesday granted a 30-day interim bail to the married couple accused of hurling racial slurs at their neighbors from Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.
Additional Sessions Judge Samar Vishal granted interim bail to the accused, Harsh Priya Singh and Ruby Jain, on a personal bond and a surety bond of Rs. 25,000 each.
"The accused persons have been in custody for about fifteen days. The statements of the victims have already been recorded, and the principal incident has been captured in a video recording. Despite the reprehensible nature of the conduct attributed to the accused, I believe that their continued detention at this stage would not serve any useful purpose," the court said in its order dated March 11.
"If appropriate safeguards can be put in place to ensure that the investigation proceeds unhindered, and if it can be reasonably ensured that, upon their release, the accused persons shall not act in any manner prejudicial to the ongoing investigation, shall refrain from attempting to influence or intimidate the complainants or other witnesses, and shall conduct themselves in a manner befitting the law, their further detention may not be warranted at this juncture," the judge added.
During their submissions, the counsel for the accused stated that Ruby Jain has been suffering from tuberculosis since 2022 and "requires regular medical attention." The accused persons had also undertaken before the court that they are willing to vacate their Malviya Nagar residence, where the incident occurred, and relocate to another locality by March 31.
The court addressed the argument by the accused that the dispute was "merely a verbal altercation" by noting that, as per the video evidence, the demeanour of the accused shows "considerable aggression" and the incident "appears to have stopped just short of an actual physical assault."
The judge also highlighted the gravity of the words spoken by the accused, as he said, "It must therefore be emphasized unequivocally that domestic disagreements, however heated they may become, can never justify a descent into language that demeans identity or denigrates heritage." It added that such speech "undermines the civility that distinguishes a harmonious society from one marked by discord."
"Citizens therefore need to exercise restraint even in moments of anger, remembering always that courtesy in speech is the first sentinel of social peace," he added.
The court justified its position to grant the couple interim bail till April 13 as balancing "the seriousness of the allegations with the principles governing the grant of bail." It stated this can be achieved "firstly by imposing stringent conditions while granting bail" and "secondly instead of granting regular bail at this stage, by releasing them on interim bail and to observe their conduct during this period for a tentative period of 30 days."
The court granted them interim bail on several conditions, including not contacting the complainants or intimidating them, cooperating with the investigation, abiding by their undertaking to vacate their current residential premises by March 31, and providing their updated residential addresses to the police.
"Any infraction of the aforesaid conditions shall render them liable to the immediate cancellation of the interim bail so granted," the court said, adding that any further extension of interim bail would also be reliant on their compliance during this period.
The accused couple was arrested on February 25 by Delhi Police for allegedly hurling racial slurs at the three women from the Northeast in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar area.
The dispute between the two parties began after debris during the installation of an air conditioner at the rented accommodation of the three women fell onto the premises of the couple living on the floor below. The incident took place on February 20.
The police have invoked the SC/ST Act in the FIR against the duo. They said the case was initially registered under sections of the BNS, invoking charges of criminal intimidation, insult to the modesty of women, and promoting enmity between groups.