In sweeping arrests following the violence in February 2024, the authorities had picked up 89 people, including women. In August 2024, 50 of them were granted default bail by the Uttarakhand High Court, regretting the “sluggish” pace of the investigation and noting that the chargesheet had not been filed within the 90-day time limit.

In other instances, the court questioned the State’s inability to establish evidence of conspiracy.

Javed Siddiqui and Arshad Ayub, charged under the UAPA among other Sections, had got default bail, in January 2025, on the same grounds as the other accused.…