New Delhi, Feb 28 (IANS) Fourteen Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) protesters, granted bail a day earlier, approached the Delhi High Court on Saturday to speed up the document verification process and other formalities to ensure their early release from Tihar jail, a lawyer said.

On behalf of the protesters, their lawyers filed an application with the Registrar General of the High Court demanding an early hearing with a view to seeking their release even before the address verification formalities.

The students, including JNUSU president Aditi Mishra and other leaders, are staring at a possibility of forced custody in Tihar over the weekend, possibly till Holi on March 4, due to the stringent documentation conditions, said a lawyer.

The students want to be released from judicial custody even before the verification of their permanent addresses – a condition set by the Patiala House Court while granting them bail on Friday.

The court had laid down the stringent verification condition, noting that this was needed as they had been “reluctant” in disclosing their correct particulars and not nominating their family members or friends to get information about their arrest.

On Friday, the accused, including three office-bearers of the JNU Students’ Union, were produced before the Patiala House Court after being arrested during a confrontation with police on Thursday.

During the hearing, the Delhi Police submitted that judicial custody of the accused was necessary to carry forward the investigation, claiming that the protest had turned violent.

According to the police, around 300 protesters attempted to take out a “Long March” without permission. When police personnel tried to stop them by putting up barricades, the protesters allegedly engaged in scuffles and assaulted officers.

The police maintained that the demonstration was not peaceful and that several personnel sustained injuries during the clash.

The investigating agency informed the court that many of the accused had previously been involved in protests where force was allegedly used and that four separate FIRs had been registered earlier in connection with similar incidents.

Opposing the plea for judicial custody, counsel for the accused submitted that the students were willing to cooperate with the investigation and were prepared to furnish a written undertaking to that effect before the court.

After hearing both sides, the court granted bail to all 14 accused on furnishing bail bonds of Rs 25,000 each.

The confrontation occurred on Thursday after students attempted to march outside the JNU campus despite the university administration stating that no permission had been granted for protests beyond the varsity premises.

The Delhi Police have maintained that the protesters resorted to violence, including physical assault of officers, while the students and the JNU Teachers Association condemned “excessive use of force and violation of democratic rights”.

–IANS

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