HC approves bail for two former Congress leaders arrested in Leh violence case on September 24, says bail is the rule

SRINAGAR: A large crowd gathered outside the Leh district jail on Saturday to welcome the Jammu and Kashmir High Court granting bail to former MP Smanla Dorje Nurboo (36) and former J&K MLA Deldan Namgail (47).After violent protests broke out in Leh on September 24 and police opened fire on demonstrators demanding statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh, resulting in four deaths and around 80 injuries, the police arrested Namgail on September 26, 2025 and Nurboo a day later. Police accused both men of inciting violence and being present at the scene, but both men denied the charges. With their release, all those arrested in connection with the September 24 violence have been released on bail.Police said 38 policemen and 57 Central Reserve Police Force personnel were also injured in the violence. The Leh Apex Body (LAB) and the Kargil Democratic Alliance (KDA), two influential political and religious groups in Leh and Kargil, have been demanding their release. The pair were also greeted outside the prison by Labor Party co-chairman Chering Dorjee, who said he was delighted the pair had been released after being held for so long.The High Court on Thursday granted bail to the accused, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling that the right to bail must be exercised in a compassionate manner. “The seriousness of the crime itself cannot justify outright denial of bail benefits if there are other overwhelming circumstances justifying the grant of bail,” the top court said, adding that the concerns of the state government could be addressed by imposing reasonable conditions. The court also noted that “for non-bailable offences, bail is the rule if not punishable by death or life imprisonment”.The court directed the accused to furnish a security deposit of Rs 1 lakh each to the satisfaction of the trial court and the jail superintendent. It imposed several conditions, including that the petitioner should cooperate with the investigating agency, participate in the trial proceedings unless exempted, should not influence witnesses, should not commit any further offense and should not leave India without prior permission of the trial court and investigating officer.In his application, Nurb said that on September 24, he was caring for sick hunger strikers at a hospital, but he was not near the incident at the time. Environmentalist and Labor Party member Sonam Wangchuk issued a hunger strike call urging the Center to grant Sixth Schedule status to Ladakh. He canceled the plan after the violence on September 24.However, Namgere said in his application that the people of the region have been making demands within the framework of the constitution and that peaceful protest is a fundamental right. “The demands made by the people are absolutely patriotic both in their scope and in their presentation,” his application said. However, he said he was implicated in the case, adding that he believed in non-violence.The state opposed bail, saying both men were powerful politicians who could abuse their power. Nurbu and Namgeir were allegedly present at the time, were “active participants” in the violence and were “key figures”.Ladakh was separated from J&K and became a Union Territory on October 31, 2019, following the reorganization of the former state. The region consists of Muslim-majority Kargil and Buddhist-majority Leh.Both regions are governed by elected autonomous councils responsible for local administration, while overall governance is the responsibility of centrally appointed local governments without legislative assemblies – a structure that drives demands for comprehensive statehood and constitutional guarantees under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution.