New Delhi, March 11 A Delhi court on Wednesday granted a 30-day interim bail to the 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 on video. Despite the reprehensible nature of the conduct attributed to the accused persons, I am of the considered view that no useful purpose would be served by their continued incarceration at this stage," 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.
"This, in my view, can appropriately 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 said, granting interim bail until April 13.
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 originated 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.