Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said there is no ground for interference with the trial court's order.
Congress leaders expressed their solidarity with 21-year-old climate activist from Bengaluru Disha Ravi, who was arrested by Delhi Police for allegedly editing and disseminating the "toolkit" on social media and sent to five days police custody.
The court asked media houses to ensure that no leaked investigation material is broadcast as it could affect the probe and directed Delhi Police to abide by its stand, on affidavit, that it has not leaked nor intends to leak any probe details to the press.
The court allowed Ravi to speak with her family members over phone for 15 minutes a day and meet with her lawyer for 30 minutes a day, while she is in police custody.
The activist claimed during her arrest her autonomy was violated and her photographs were splashed all over the news. "My actions were pronounced guilty -- not in the court of law, but on flat screens by seekers of TRPs," Ravi lamented.
Police said Ravi was evasive during her previous interrogation and tried to shift blame on the co-accused.
Taking cognisance of media reports, the panel in a statement, issued on Tuesday, also said that Ravi was produced before a court in Delhi without a lawyer of her choice being present there.
Ravi was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the Delhi Police from Bengaluru and brought to Delhi. She was currently in police custody.
The petition also seeks to restrain the media from publishing the contents or extracts of any alleged private chats, including those on WhatsApp, between her and third parties.
According to a National Crime Records Bureau report, a total of 356 cases of sedition -- as defined under section 124A of the IPC -- were registered and 548 people arrested between 2015 and 2020, out of which only six were convicted.
Ravi was arrested by Delhi police on February 13 from Bengaluru.
Police alleged that Mumbai lawyer Nikita Jacob and Pune engineer Shantanu were among the around 70 people who had attended the meeting through Zoom app, days before the Republic Day violence in the national capital that left over 500 police personnel injured and one protester dead.
The Delhi Police will investigate the role of a woman based in the United Kingdom after its probe revealed that she, along with lawyer Nikita Jacob and engineer Shantanu Muluk, allegedly drafted the content of a 'twitter storm' campaign in February in support of the ongoing farmer agitation, officials said on Wednesday.
Disha Ravi is yet another addition to a growing list of young activists who the Delhi police have arrested since last year on various charges that have yet to be proved in a court of law.
Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Monday posted a tweet on activist Disha Ravi's arrest that appeared to urge 'exterminating' those who harbour the 'seed of anti-nationalism', prompting an investigation by Twitter.
The action taken by the Delhi Police on an FIR related to a toolkit shared by climate campaigner Greta Thunberg in support of the ongoing farmer protests has triggered a war of words between the Opposition and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
Lawyer Nikita Jacob and engineer Shantanu Muluk on Monday joined the probe in connection with the toolkit case and are being questioned at the Delhi Police's Cyber cell office in Dwarka, a senior police officer said.
After Greta Thunberg shared the 'toolkit' on Twitter, climate activist Disha Ravi asked the Swedish environmental activist to delete her post fearing action under the stringent law Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act as her name was mentioned in the document, police alleged on Monday.
A court in New Delhi on Thursday granted protection from arrest till March 9 to Shantanu Muluk, who is accused along with Disha Ravi of allegedly being involved in sharing a 'toolkit' on social media related to the farmers' protest.
In a document submitted by Jacob's lawyer to Mumbai police, she claimed that the "toolkit" was being prepared by Extinction Rebellion India volunteers for presenting the whole picture with a simple breakdown for an international audience.
There is no evidence to show that the toolkit on farmers' protest is responsible for the violence on January 26, activist Disha Ravi's counsel told a Delhi court which reserved for Tuesday its order on her bail plea.
Dominic Xavier offers his take on Disha's shocking arrest and wonders how the young woman could be a threat to our mighty Republic as claimed by the police.
Climate activist Disha Ravi along with Mumbai lawyer Nikita Jacob and Pune-based engineer Shantanu created the 'toolkit' related to the farmers' agitation and shared it with others to tarnish India's image, the Delhi Police said on Monday.
Muluk and Jacob had on Monday approached the high court separately seeking transit anticipatory bail, after a Delhi court issued non-bailable warrants against them. According to Delhi Police, the duo were involved in preparing the toolkit document and were in direct touch with "pro-Khalistani elements".
The Delhi Police claimed that Disha Ravi, who was arrested by a Cyber Cell team of the force on Saturday, was an editor of the 'toolkit Google doc' and 'key conspirator' in the document's formulation and dissemination.
A Mumbai lawyer and a Beed engineer joined arrested climate activist Disha Ravi in creating a protest toolkit backing the farmers' agitation with the aim of 'tarnishing the image of India' and collaborated with pro-Khalistani elements, Delhi Police officials said on Monday.
The Congress and the government engaged in a war of words in Lok Sabha on Tuesday over sedition cases with the opposition party alleging the stringent law is being misused, drawing a sharp retort from Union minister G Kishan Reddy who asked it not to lecture others on democracy.
According to the Delhi police, Nikita Jacob with arrested accused Disha Ravi, an activist from Bengaluru, were allegedly involved in preparing the document and were in direct touch with "pro-Khalistani elements".
Two persons claiming to be the personnel of Delhi Police seized a computer hard disk and other items from the house of green activist Shantanu Muluk, a suspect in the "toolkit" case related to the farmers' protest, without a search warrant on February 12, in Beed in Maharashtra, his father Shivlal Muluk has told local police.
The protests against farm laws saw a fair share of controversies as well with climate activist Greta Thunberg and pop sensation Rihanna making their way to India's prime time debates and terms such as 'toolkit' and 'andolanjeevi' entering the Indian political lexicon.
From the Republic Day violence to Lakhimpur Kheri incident and terms such as 'toolkit' and andolanjeevi entering the Indian political lexicon, it was controversies galore during the year-long farmers' movement against the contentious agri laws.
An advocate and an environmental activist on Monday moved the Bombay high court seeking transit anticipatory bail after they were named as suspects in a case filed by the Delhi police with regard to the 'toolkit' shared by climate activist Greta Thunberg over the farmers' protest.
'The only reason why these troubling developments are taking place is because of a certain arrogance of power displayed by this government that hopes to clamp down on those voices which have repeatedly pointed out that their bloated rhetoric and grandstanding are not matched by their insipid and tepid response in matters of governance.'
'They have a voracious appetite.' 'But there are many places where they go and they lose.'
Will appeasement, rising unemployment and her dictatorial style become major obstacles in her path? asks Payal Singh Mohanka.
'If you talk about any kind of equality, you are under attack.'
'Investigating agencies are not acting as independent authorities; they have stopped being neutral.'
'It is a sad day when social activists, environmental campaigners, anti-corruption workers are singled out as anti-nationals and then criminalised.'
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