On 6th October, a Delhi Court denied permission to Natasha Narwal, a UAPA accused in the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots larger conspiracy case, to travel to the UK for an academic conference and research-related work.
Additional Sessions Judge Sameer Bajpai of the Karkardooma Courts noted that the right to travel abroad is not absolute and that the pendency of the UAPA proceedings against Natasha Narwal, who was associated with the anti-Hindu Pinjra Tod outfit during the riots, remains a relevant consideration.
The court, thus, rejected Narwal’s plea seeking permission to travel to the UK from 2nd November to 1st December 2026. Judge Sameer Bajpai held that given the seriousness of the case and the stage of proceedings, it would not be appropriate to allow the accused to go out of the country.
“Further, the Court agrees with the submission of the Ld. SPP that although in its judgment dated 15.06.2021,
the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi granted liberty to the applicant to seek permission of this Court for going abroad, but as the matter was serious, the Hon’ble High Court directed the applicant to surrender her passport, if the same was already issued to her,” the court said.
“Further, as far as the judgments as referred by Ld. Counsel for the applicant are concerned, the right of the applicant to travel abroad is not an absolute right and is subject to certain exceptions and the pendency of the present case under the provisions of UAPA is probably the most relevant exception,” it added.
The court stated that as the offences for which Narwal has been charge-sheeted are under the UAPA, which are punishable with life imprisonment and even with death penalty, and further, “as the matter is pending for consideration of charge, the Court doesn’t deem it appropriate to allow the applicant to visit abroad. Accordingly, the application is dismissed.”
Notably, Natasha Narwal sought permission to visit the UK to present a research paper, “Gendered Carceral Labour as Social Reproduction,” at the 23rd Annual Historical Materialism Conference, set to be held at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, from 5th to 8th November.
In addition, she planned to visit the University of Warwick and do archival research at the British Library.
Narwal contended that she had regularly attended court proceedings, has never failed to comply with bail conditions. In addition, the UAPA accused argued that if her plea is denied, she will also suffer financial loss.
The court, however, did not deem it fit to grant permission to Natasha Narwal given the seriousness of the case.
The prosecution had submitted that accused Natasha Narwal should not be granted permission to travel abroad in view of the charge’s pendency and the critical stage at which the case is.
The prosecution had submitted that while granting bail to Narwal in June 2021, the Delhi High Court had explicitly imposed a condition that the applicant shall surrender her passport and seek prior permission of the Court before travelling out of the country, and this condition was consciously imposed having regard to the gravity of the allegations and to ensure the applicant’s continued presence for trial.
In addition, the prosecution expressed apprehension that Narwal might leave for the UK and seek asylum there given the lenient extradition laws.
Delhi Riots accused Natasha Narwal wanted to attend a conference at the George Soros-funded university in London
Interestingly, the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) Natasha Narwal wanted to visit has a documented track record of anti-India and anti-Hindu activities. The SOAS is funded by George Soros, the American philanthropist and regime change specialist, notorious for funding anti-India entities and individuals in and outside India.
In February this year, the SOAS released a dubious 218-page report titled ‘Better Together: Understanding the 2022 Violence in Leicester’.The inquiry ditched its initial claim that “no single community or group is to blame” for the violence, distrust, and tensions in Leicester, by repeating blame on Hindus and dedicating a full chapter and recommendations to portraying Hindus and Hindutva. The SOAS researchers, with an anti-Hindu past, presented Hindutva or Hindu nationalism as a ‘clear factor’, a ‘state-backed international project’, and a form of ‘extremism ’, equating it to what they called “political Islamism”.
Amusingly, the SOAS propaganda report targeted OpIndia for its Leicester violence coverage. In the segment analysing the impact of social media on the incidents in Leicester back in 2022 and vice versa, the report almost ridiculed Hindu social media users for raising their voice against Islamist attacks on Hindus in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, particularly in Leicester under the hashtag #HindusUnderAttack.
The report claimed that social media narrative manipulation was at play during the Leicester violence in 2022, with OpIndia being a significant contributor. It even suggested that the Bharat Mata Ki Jai slogan carries ‘Hindu nationalist’ sentiments.
Even as it was Muslim leaders and Islamists like Majid Freeman who were found guilty of instigating violence against Hindus, the SOAS report claimed that Hindus from India’s Daman and Diu “were central actors in the events from May until September.”
Despite the 2022 Leicester violence being a case of Islamist intolerance of unapologetic Hindus and India, the SOAS University of London report found Hindutva to blame.
Role of Pinjra Tod activist Natasha Narwal in the 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi Riots
Co-founder of the far-left group Pinjra Tod, Natasha Narwal is accused of orchestrating protests at Seelampur. The prosecution said that Narwal was made a part of the DPSG group, following her success in Seelampur. He added that she was a part of a meeting on 16th February and 17th February during which the Anti-CAA conspiracy was hatched.
The prosecution has submitted in court that Narwal was privy to the principal conspirators. She was coordinating with the Jamia coordination committee.
Notably, Narwal was arrested by the Delhi Police on 22nd May 2020, along with co-accused Devangna Kalita.
While Pinjra Tod was founded in 2015 primarily in opposition to hostel curfews at Delhi’s colleges and universities, their far-left agenda had been evident for a long time.
Unsurprisingly, Natasha Narwal has also been a columnist with several Left-leaning online portals in the past. She had written three articles for the far-left propaganda portal The Wire. Harbouring deep-seated hatred and Hinduphobia, Natasha Narwal has also written for NewsLaundry.
Interestingly, in all her writings on the two platforms, while Natasha displays substantial hatred for Hindus and their traditions, even misrepresenting and lying about what the place of women is in Hindu society, she seems to have stayed clear of any targeted criticism of women’s place in Islam and the Muslim community.
While the courts have earlier denied and then granted bail to Natasha Narwal, they have opined that prima facie the allegations against Narwal are true.
In 2021, after reviewing the WhatsApp group DPSG’s chat under scrutiny, Additional Judge Amitabh Rawat said that there was a specific reference to Narwal and the distribution of red chilli powder to women so that they could attack police and paramilitary on 23rd February 2020.
In June 2021, the Delhi High Court granted bail to Devangana Kalita of Pinjra Tod, Natasha Narwal of Pinjra Tod, and Asif Iqbal Tanha of SIO (Student Islamic Organisation). The High Court had exceeded its brief and made observations regarding the application of UAPA against the accused and the definition of terrorism itself.
OpIndia reported in detail how the Supreme Court contradicted itself by not cancelling bail granted to Natasha Narwal and Devangna Kalita.
