Delhi court grants 3-week interim bail to influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj
New Delhi: The Patiala House Court on Tuesday granted three weeks' interim bail to self-styled “influencer” Swatantra Bhardwaj, who is in judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault of the father of a minor activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar.
Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler passed the order granting Bhardwaj interim relief.
The development came a day after the court reserved its order on Bhardwaj's regular bail plea. During Monday's hearing, the court questioned the Delhi Police on whether Bhardwaj had used caste-indicative words during the alleged incident.
The prosecution submitted that the initial complaint did not mention the use of such language. It said the allegation was made subsequently when the complainant's statement was recorded again, following which provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act were added to the FIR.
Bhardwaj's counsel sought bail, while the prosecution opposed the plea.
Bhardwaj is accused of assaulting Sanjay Kumar, the father of a minor protester, during a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in July. Police had earlier said that the injuries sustained by Kumar were “simple” in nature and were allegedly caused by a steel bracelet.
The FIR invokes relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and provisions relating to criminal intimidation.
The latest development came days after the Patiala House Court declined an out-of-turn hearing on Bhardwaj's bail plea and listed it for September 14.
Bhardwaj was arrested in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr district on September 4, hours after representatives of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) met senior Delhi Police officials and demanded his arrest.
The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Bhardwaj challenging his arrest in the alleged assault case.
A Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja rejected the petition after the Delhi Police submitted that it was not maintainable as Bhardwaj had already been sent to judicial custody.
The CJP had also demanded that an attempt-to-murder charge be invoked. Police said the provision would be considered after obtaining an expert medical opinion.
A separate FIR was also registered against Bhardwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on the complaint of the minor activist, who alleged online rape threats and harassment.
The controversy erupted after a purported viral video in which Bhardwaj allegedly claimed that he had physically assaulted the minor activist's father during the Jantar Mantar demonstration and allegedly said that he was let off because of his “political connections”.
Bhardwaj later told the media that he had allegedly acted in self-defence.
Union Minister and Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas (LJP-RV) chief Chirag Paswan said his name had been “misused” by Bhardwaj in the purported video.
Paswan said he had filed an official complaint against Bhardwaj and would ensure justice for the minor victim and her family.
With IANS inputs