Guwahati: Sivasagar MLA and Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi has been ordered released on bail in a case brought under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) due to his campaign against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and alleged Maoist ties.
However, the court affirmed a Gauhati High Court decision that had reversed Gogoi’s discharge from the case.
A bench of justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal reserved the order following the conclusion of the case’s arguments.
The Gauhati High Court judgement that permitted the investigation agency to file charges against Gogoi and three other people in connection with the protests was challenged by Gogoi in a lawsuit earlier last month. The top court had deferred a decision on that case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) appealed the Gauhati High Court’s decision to overturn the Special NIA Court’s judgement clearing the four defendants in July 2021.
The High Court instructed the investigating agency to proceed with charging after reopening the investigation after hearing the plea.
Gogoi and three other people were arrested for the violations related to the anti-CAA demonstrations in December 2019 and his alleged connections to Maoist outfits.
All four were accused of violating the UAPA Act, Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code’s Sedition section, Section 153A of the section Promoting Enmity Among Religious Groups, and Section 153B of the section Declaring Against National Integration.