2024 ECI protest case: Delhi court grants bail to 10 TMC leaders, including Derek O'Brien and Sagarika Ghose

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Tuesday granted bail to 10 TMC leaders, including Derek O'Brien, Sagarika Ghose and Saket Gokhale, who were charged for protesting outside the Election Commission of India in April last year, violating prohibitory orders. Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal extended relief to TMC leaders Santanu Sen, Dola Sen, Nadimul Haque, Vivek Gupta, Arpita Ghosh, Abir Ranjan Biswas and Sudip Raha, following their lawyer's application. Nine leaders appeared in person, whilst Vivek Gupta joined via video conference.The court granted bail to five sitting MPs on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each, whilst others received bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 with an additional surety of the same amount.The judge, noting that the chargesheet was filed without arrests, granted bail and scheduled the next hearing for May 21.Delhi Police reported that the TMC leaders assembled outside the ECI's main gate on April 8 last year, conducting an unauthorised protest with placards and banners, despite Section 144 being in effect. The police stated that the leaders persisted with their demonstration after being informed about the restrictions, leading to an FIR.The TMC leaders were protesting against central investigative agencies CBI, NIA, ED and the Income Tax Department, demanding leadership changes. A 10-member TMC delegation announced the protest following their meeting with the ECI's full bench to present their demands.The party contended that the central investigative agencies were specifically targeting opposition parties under the direction of the BJP-led central government.