The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a
plea by farmers' rights activist Akhil Gogoi in a case pertaining to anti-CAA
protests in Assam in 2019.
A bench headed by Justice NV Ramana said that it is not willing to grant bail
at this stage to Gogoi. He is in jail since December 2019 due charges against him.
Gogoi's was arrested under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act amid
large-scale anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in Assam.
During the hearing, Gogoi's counsel Jaideep Gupta submitted that protests on
large scale took place against the CAA, and that the issue should not be
connected with terrorism at all.
Gupta emphasised that there were some instances of violence at some places but
there was no evidence to suggest that his client was responsible. The Senior
Advocate added that prima facie it did not amount to an act of terrorism.
The bench replied that it cannot grant bail to him right now and that he could
file another plea later. "Let the trial proceed. Courts have started
functioning now," it said. Gogoi's bail was earlier rejected by the
Gauhati High Court, which was challenged by him in the top court.