On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court rejected the request made by climate activist Disha Ravi, who is one of the accused in the 2021 "toolkit case," to change a bail condition. This condition required her to seek prior court permission before traveling abroad.

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma declined the plea filed by Ravi, in which she requested a change in the bail condition stating, "She shall not leave the country without the permission of the court.”

The petition contested the decision of the trial court, which had been issued on August 09, and had denied her request to amend the bail condition.

Disha Ravi was taken into custody by Delhi Police from her Bengaluru home on February 13, 2021. Subsequently, she was granted bail by the trial court on February 23, 2021.

Justice Sharma had reserved the order on August 21, and as of now, a copy of the judgment is still awaited.

During the hearing, Ravi's counsel suggested changing the condition of requiring permission to that of "intimation." The argument was that since Ravi needs to travel abroad frequently, it would be more practical for her to inform the trial court of her travel plans rather than seek permission each time before traveling.

It was further mentioned that Ravi has been a frequent traveller abroad over the past two and a half years and has consistently adhered to all bail conditions imposed on her without any violations.

In contrast, the Delhi Police had objected to her request, arguing that the inconvenience of a bail condition alone is not a valid reason for modifying it. They also informed the court that the reasons for the delay in the investigation had already been provided by the prosecution to the trial court.

The Delhi Police had clarified their reasons for not concluding the investigation to the trial court. They explained that the proceedings related to the offense of sedition had been halted by an order from the Supreme Court of India. Subsequently, after seeking the opinion of the Solicitor General of India, the prosecution initiated a fresh investigation concerning the remaining offenses in the case.

The trial court was informed that the offenses under investigation have connections to individuals located in various foreign countries. The investigating agency is actively engaged in gathering crucial evidence from relevant agencies and intermediaries as part of the ongoing investigation.

Ravi was granted bail by the trial court, which noted the "limited and incomplete evidence" against her.

The Delhi Police's argument was that during the 2021 farmers' protest, multiple "toolkit documents" were disseminated on social media, purportedly created by an entity called "Poetic Justice Foundation." They contended that the creators of these toolkits had the intention of fostering disaffection against India.

According to the prosecution, they attributed the violence that occurred during the protests to the "incitement to violence" purportedly present in the document that was allegedly created by Ravi.

It was further alleged that she was a member of a WhatsApp group that included individuals who were said to have edited the toolkit and shared it with others, including environmental activist Greta Thunberg.