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Updated - October 23, 2026 10:14 pm IST - New Delhi

Student activist Neha Bora, center, shouts slogans during a youth demonstration . File | Photo Credit: AP

The Delhi High Court on Friday (October 23, 2026) rejected a plea by All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha Bora challenging a police notice asking to execute a peace bond before a special executive magistrate (SEM).

“I am rejecting the writ petition at this juncture,” said Justice Subramonium Prasad while pronouncing the judgment.

The judge, however, said that he has passed certain directions to the SEM on providing all material to the student leader in the proceedings.

“There are sufficient safeguards given; directions given to the magistrate to take care. All the material has to be furnished to Neha Bora,” Justice Prasad said.

The court also said that before passing any order, the SEM would consider the issue of whether the bond has to be produced at the very first instance or during the course of the enquiry.

The national president of AISA had challenged a police notice directing Neha Bora to furnish a bond for maintaining peace before the SEM.

The police notice, issued on October 17 under Section 126 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), asked the student leader to appear before the SEM on October 19 and show cause as to why Neha Bora should not execute a personal bond of ₹10,000 with one surety “for keeping peace for a period of enquiry”.

Section 126 of the BNSS empowers the SEM to enforce such bond signing if there is credible information that a person is likely to breach peace, disturb public tranquillity, or commit a wrongful act that may cause disturbance.

During the hearing on Thursday (October 22), Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Delhi Police, questioned the maintainability of Neha Bora’s petition.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Neha Bora, argued that the SEM had issued the notice to the student activist without applying independent judgment, describing it as a “cut and paste job”.

Referring to the police’s allegation that Neha Bora had hoisted the national flag without permission, he maintained that citizens were not required to seek official approval to do so.

The ASG, however, submitted that sufficient material was available before the SEM when the notice was issued and that the magistrate had applied his mind.

Neha Bora was taken into preventive detention on October 16 on her way to join the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) ‘Lehra Do Tiranga’ march. She was released on October 17.

Published - October 23, 2026 07:45 pm IST

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