New Delhi: All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora told Delhi High Court Thursday that she was not involved in the Cockroach Janta Party’s Oct 16 protest call at Central Park in Connaught Place and had organised a separate gathering at Mandi House.Her counsel also said that there was nothing wrong with seeking regime change in a democracy, when the police’s counsel pointed to Bora’s presence in a news conference where “regime change” was mentioned.Bora has contested a police notice asking her to execute a “peace” bond before a special executive magistrate. Her submission was before Justice Subramonium Prasad who, after hearing Bora’s counsel and police for nearly three hours, reserved the order. The verdict will be pronounced Friday, the judge said.Bora has been asked to appear before the SEM Saturday. She has sought quashing of this police notice and asked for a direction to the force not to take any coercive action against her. Her petition has pointed to factual incorrectness in the notice which has associated her with the Jantar Mantar protest, when Bora was present at a Mandi House protest.Additional solicitor-general (ASG) Chetan Sharma, who represented Delhi Police, drew the court’s attention to the press conference attended by Bora and others. He highlighted that in the joint sitting it was announced that “yeh regime change ki ladai hai and hum regime change karake rahenge (this is a fight for regime change and we will get the regime changed)”.To this, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing Bora, said the statement can’t be attributed to her. He also added that “there is nothing wrong with regime change in a democracy.”The law officer objected to this, saying: “You were part of that news conference. I will take exception to this. A regime change in a democracy will happen by votes and not by lumpen elements congregating in… Delhi.”Bora’s lawyer argued that there was no application of mind or independent opinion by the special executive magistrate in issuing the notice. It was a mere cut-and-paste job that was done mechanically, he said. “According to the notice what I have done — shouting loudly at the protest at the roundabout of Mandi House. You were involved in protest-related activities in and around Jantar Mantar despite prohibitory orders. You instigated people to participate in unauthorised demonstration at Central Park, Connaught Place… and also hoist the national flag without obtaining valid permission,” the counsel said.“Maybe they need some instruction on law that we don’t need permission to hoist the national flag,” he said.According to the notice, there was apprehension of breach of public peace and tranquillity within the jurisdiction of the SEM’s court.Challenging the notice, Bora said it does not meet the essential requirements as mandated by the law.The court asked the police if it can hold off on enforcing the SEM notice till the high court takes a call but the ASG said if the petitioner is ready to give an undertaking to the court that she will not breach peace, he was ready to give an undertaking.The high court, however, said it will pass the order on Friday. It said the petitioner’s concern was that “I am already branded as a bad boy and I have been asked to say that I shall be a good boy. It is that stigma which a person has which has led to this proceeding. It has a facet in Article 21.”The ASG said there were 12 violations by Bora and complete records were available with the SEM and there was independent application of mind while issuing the notice. “It is not a simple case of an innocent woman,” he said.
