The Additional Session Judge S. K. Pandey granted bail to 57 of the 59 protesters who were arrested during the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests. The 57 people who applied for bail were released on 2 January 2020, after the submission of two bonds of Rs 25,000 each.
Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra filed a case for the release of two NGO social workers, Ravi Shekhar and his wife Ekta, stating that the couple has a 14-month-old baby, who was being looked after by neighbors after they were arrested during the protests.
On 19 and 20 December, Varanasi had witnessed anti-CAA protests. On 19 December 2019, 19 Banaras Hindu University students including activists of CPI and CPM were arrested from the Chetganj area while marching to the Benia Bagh ground for holding the anti-CAA meeting. Some more protesters were arrested in the Badagaon area.
