New Delhi: The online “toolkit”, cited by the Delhi police to accuse three persons of sedition over the past few days, was merely a “resource document” and did not “sow disaffection”, eco-activist Disha Ravi told a Delhi court today while moving her bail plea. She said as an activist, her cause was the environment and agriculture, not Khalistan as accused. The Delhi police opposed the 22-year-old’s petition saying the toolkit was, in fact, a gateway to another website aimed at defaming India and its army. Ms Ravi, the only person arrested in the case, is closely connected to the Khalistan-backing organisation Poetic Justice Foundation (PJF), they claimed. After listening to both sides, the court reserved its order for Tuesday, but not before hinting that at least some of the prosecution’s claims were conjectures.
“I am 22, from Karnataka. I have no connection with Khalistan movement, whatsoever,” Ms Ravi argued before Justice Dharmendra Rana. “There is no single chat or conversation between me and the (banned organisation) Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) produced by the Delhi police.”
The prosecution has claimed that PJF, which is not proscribed, had close ties to SFJ, concluding, in turn, that it makes Ms Ravi an accomplice to alleged Khalistani activity.
She then pointed out that the police case had said “yoga was being targeted”. “If I prefer Kung Fu, am I in conspiracy with China? Is that sedition?” Ms Ravi’s counsel Siddharth Agarwal asked.
The judge then asked her if she had attended a Zoom call, which, as the police have alleged, was one of the sessions where the January 26 violence conspiracy was hatched. “If there is violence or instigation of violence then it’s an offence, but what’s the allegation against me? That I was part of a Zoom call? That I spoke during the Zoom call?” her counsel asked.