IYC protests after bail reversal, frames Chib case as test of right to dissent

The Indian Youth Congress (IYC) on Sunday launched a “peaceful satyagraha” at the Press Club of India demanding the release of its national president Uday Bhanu Chib and other members arrested following the controversial 'shirtless protest' during February's AI Impact Summit — escalating the confrontation into a wider political battle over dissent and democratic rights.

The protest came a day after a Delhi court stayed the bail granted to Chib, hours after a magistrate had ordered his release observing that the right to life and liberty is the “soul of the Indian Constitution”.

Framing the episode as more than a legal dispute, the IYC sought to place it at the centre of a broader democratic question. “This is bigger than one arrest. It is about whether dissent will be treated as a democratic right or a punishable offence,” the organisation said, linking the detention of its leaders to their protest against the India–US trade deal. “Bail is not the end of the story. Accountability on a trade deal that impacts India’s farmers, youth, and economic sovereignty is still owed.”

Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, journalist Sabana Azmi and Anish Gawande were present in solidarity, defending what the Youth Congress described as the constitutional right to protest.

According to Raza Ahmad from the IYC media team, the sequence of developments around Chib’s bail pointed to deeper institutional pressure. “Uday Bhanu's bail was granted in the early hours of Saturday, and the bail bond had already been submitted. But later, we were informed that they had been sent to one day's custody for bond verification.

"Then, by evening, we were told that the bail bond had been cancelled and they were being sent to five days' remand,” Ahmad said. “The official call came at least an hour after the news had already broken in the media.”

Hours after Chib was granted bail, additional sessions judge Amit Bansal stayed the order following a plea by the Delhi Police and listed the matter for further hearing on 6 March.

Chib had been produced before duty magistrate Vanshika Mehta at around 1.00 am on Saturday after completing four days of police custody, which had been granted following his arrest on 24 February over the 20 February protest.

The Youth Congress has alleged that “when administrative pressure comes into play, even justice starts to waver”.

“Though we are winning by justice, we are losing to the administration again and again. That’s why our satyagraha will continue,” Ahmad said.

The organisation has said its protest will continue until Chib and the detained workers are released, positioning the agitation as part of a wider defence of the right to question government policy without fear of reprisal.

With PTI inputs