Court grants interim bail to influencer in Jantar Mantar assault case

The Patiala House Court has granted three weeks' interim bail to self-styled influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj, who is jailed over the alleged assault of a minor activist's father at Jantar Mantar. The case involves BNS and SC/ST Act provisions

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 of the Patiala House Court passed the order granting Bhardwaj interim relief.

---

The development comes a day after the court had reserved its order on Bhardwaj’s regular bail plea. During the hearing on Monday, the court had questioned the Delhi Police on whether Bhardwaj had used caste-indicative words at the time of the alleged incident. The prosecution had submitted that the initial complaint did not mention the use of any such language and that 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 had sought bail, while the prosecution opposed the plea. Bhardwaj is accused of assaulting Sanjay Kumar, father of a minor protester, during a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in July.

The police had earlier said that the injuries sustained by the victim 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 development comes days after the Patiala House Court had declined an out-of-turn hearing on Bhardwaj’s bail plea and listed it for September 14.

Bhardwaj was held 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 the invocation of an attempt-to-murder charge, with the police stating that 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 father of the minor activist 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 had said that his name was “misused” by Bhardwaj in the purported video. Paswan had said that he filed an official complaint against Bhardwaj and would ensure justice for the minor victim and her family.