A Delhi Court has granted bail to nine Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers arrested in relation to the shirtless protest at the recent India AI Impact Summit at Bharat Mandapam.

Judicial Magistrate First Class Ravi of Patiala House Courts said that the protest constituted symbolic political critique and pre-trial detention could “illicit pre-emptive punishment”.

The Court granted bail to accused Krishna Hari, Narshimha Yadav, Kundan Kumar Yadav, Ajay Kumar Singh, Jitendra Singh Yadav, Raja Gurjar, Ajay Kumar Vimal alias Bantu, Saurabh Singh and Arbaz Khan.

“The protest, at highest, constituted symbolic political critique during a public event: T-shirts with leadership imagery, non-inciteful slogans bereft of communal/regional taint, and transient assembly. No evidence discloses property defacement, or delegate panic; exit was orderly via escort,” the court said.

It noted that the pre-trial detention, severed from any imperative necessity and devoid of persisting investigative demands, could illicit pre-emptive punishment antecedent to conviction.

The AI Impact Summit 2026 began on February 16. Various persons were arrested after the accused wore T-shirts bearing images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, with slogans against the government and the India-US trade deal.