NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Saturday described the ‘shirtless’ protest organized by Indian Youth Congress (IYC) workers at the AI Impact Summit 2026 as a “flagrant assault on public order” that puts India’s diplomatic image at risk.Judicial Magistrate Ravi allowed the detention for five days of the four accused – Krishna Hari, national secretary of the Youth Congress from Bihar, Kundan Yadav, minister of Bihar, Ajay Kumar, chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Narasimha Yadav from Telangana – for interrogation, citing flight risk and possible links to foreign conspiracies, PTI reported.
‘Gandhi Aur Nanji Rajneeti’: PM Modi slams Congress over ‘shirtless’ protest at AI summit
“Such behavior clearly exceeds the scope of legitimate opposition, and turns into a blatant attack on public order.
“This not only jeopardizes the sanctity of the event, but also exposes the Republic’s diplomatic image to foreign stakeholders, making it completely unprotected by constitutional guarantees,” the judge said.The judge noted that the demonstrators “wore provocative T-shirts bearing offensive slogans such as ‘India-US trade deal is at risk’, loudly uttered incendiary slogans, obstructed public officials in the performance of their duties, and committed physical assaults that caused serious injuries to police personnel, as proven by the registered medical and legal cases.”
“…the accused persons allegedly orchestrated a deliberate intrusion into the high security areas of Bharat Mandapam during the AI Summit 2026, a major international conclave hosting delegates and global dignitaries,” the court order seen by PTI said.The court also cited early investigative findings that indicated several of the defendant’s associates may be on the run, possibly tampering with the digital fingerprints, financial trails, and disclosures of co-defendants.
She also pointed to a 1980 Supreme Court ruling, which notes that “the discretion of bail must preserve the integrity of the investigation, especially the pre-indictment.”The judge allowed police detention under provisions including sections 121 of the BNS (voluntarily causing hurt to deter a public servant from his duty) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), offenses carrying a sentence of more than three years.The protest took place during the AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi, which attracted global technology leaders, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The accused displayed T-shirts with pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, along with slogans against the government and the Indo-US trade deal, and clashed with security personnel.Police arrested the four demonstrators on Friday for organizing a “shirtless protest” inside the exhibition hall.
