Delhi HC to hear Swatantra Bhardwaj’s plea against arrest urgently

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday agreed to urgently hear a habeas corpus petition filed by social media influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj challenging his arrest in connection with the alleged assault on the father of a teenage student activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia allowed the matter to be listed during the day after advocate Umesh Sharma sought an urgent hearing on Bhardwaj’s behalf. The petition contended that Bhardwaj’s arrest was illegal and sought his release from custody.

Bhardwaj, who was detained in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr on September 4, was produced before a duty magistrate through video conferencing on Sunday and remanded to one-day judicial custody. His detention followed a protest by the Cockroach Janta Party outside Parliament Street police station, demanding action against him over the alleged assault on Sanjay Kumar, father of student activist Nishu Azad.

Delhi Police have added provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR in the assault case. A separate case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act has also been registered following a complaint by Nishu.

The case gained attention after a podcast interview in which Bhardwaj allegedly claimed that he had assaulted Nishu’s father during the protest and avoided arrest because of political connections. Delhi Police, however, said its medical examination did not support claims of a skull fracture and described the victim’s injuries as simple in nature.