Indian Youths' Shirtless Protest Against India-US Trade Deal Gets Legal Nod

New Delhi: A unique protest during the high-profile'India AI Impact Summit'in the national capital has taken a legal twist. Delhi's Patiala House Court has made a very important observation while granting bail to nine Indian Youth Congress activists. These activists protested shirtless wearing T-shirts with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former US President Donald Trump and raised slogans against the India-US trade deal. Judicial Magistrate Ravi granted bail, saying that the protest was only a "symbolic political criticism" which cannot be equated with a criminal act. The court has turned a red-eye against the police action and detention, saying that keeping the accused in jail before the trial (hearing of the case) begins is tantamount to punishment. The court noted that the protest by the activists was peaceful and did not cause any damage to public property. The slogans were also non-provocative and had no communal or regional reference, thus proving the equal importance of peaceful protest and peaceful expression of dissent in the investigation of Indian democracy.