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Delhi court grants temporary relief to Swatantra Bhardwaj amid ongoing proceedings. (Img: Pinterest)
New Delhi: A Delhi court on Tuesday granted three weeks’ interim bail to Swatantra Bhardwaj in connection with the alleged assault of the father of a student-activist during a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar.
Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler of the Patiala House Courts passed the order after considering Bhardwaj’s bail application. He had initially sought regular bail in the criminal proceedings arising from the alleged altercation.
The prosecution case stems from an incident during the CJP demonstration at Jantar Mantar in June, in which Bhardwaj is accused of assaulting Sanjay Azad, the father of a minor student-activist. Bhardwaj was subsequently arrested from Uttar Pradesh and remanded to judicial custody.
The matter has since acquired a wider criminal-law dimension, with the investigating agency invoking provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and other penal provisions. A separate FIR has also been registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) in connection with allegations concerning the minor.
Bhardwaj has disputed the allegations and, during the bail proceedings, maintained that the complainant had initiated the physical confrontation. His counsel also questioned the circumstances surrounding his arrest and contended that the proceedings were influenced by subsequent political developments. The defence further disputed the allegation of caste-based abuse.
The invocation of the SC/ST Act has also figured prominently in the proceedings. The court had sought clarification from the Delhi Police regarding the allegation of caste-based slurs, with the prosecution indicating that such an allegation surfaced in a subsequent statement recorded during the investigation.
Bhardwaj had earlier challenged his arrest before the Delhi High Court through a habeas corpus petition. The Division Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja declined to interfere with his custody, leaving the accused to pursue appropriate remedies before the competent trial court.
The trial court had thereafter remanded Bhardwaj to judicial custody for 14 days following the completion of his police custody. The custody order came after the police sought further detention in connection with the investigation.
The present order granting interim bail is, however, limited in duration and does not constitute an adjudication on the merits of the criminal allegations. The question of culpability remains open and will ultimately have to be determined on the basis of evidence led during the judicial process.
The proceedings have also been conducted against the backdrop of heightened scrutiny surrounding the CJP protests and the allegations arising from the confrontation at Jantar Mantar. With the investigation and related proceedings continuing, the three-week interim relief granted to Bhardwaj operates as a temporary suspension of his custodial detention rather than a determination of his substantive entitlement to regular bail.
