A Delhi court on Tuesday granted right-wing influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj three weeks' interim bail in a case related to the assault of the father of a student-activist during the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protests at Jantar Mantar..Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler of the Patiala House Court passed the order. Notably, Bhardwaj had filed for regular bail. There was no application seeking interim bail.In his order, Judge Laler said that Bhardwaj was being released on interim bail because the court wants to observe his conduct before considering his plea for regular bail.Noting the social media commentary related to the case, the Court said that matter will be decided in "court of law on evidence, and not in public or on social media.""In the considered view of this Court, the duty under the Act to protect the victim and the duty under Article 21 to safeguard personal liberty are best reconciled by releasing the applicant on interim bail for three weeks on stringent conditions. His conduct during that period will be observed, and his prayer for regular bail will then be considered in its light," the Court said. It noted that Bhardwaj has been in jail for over 10 days, a period that should have afforded him time for reflection."His custodial interrogation is complete, and the offences carry a maximum sentence of seven years. The principal concern is the safety of the complainant and his minor daughter, which can be secured by appropriate conditions," the Court observed.Judge Laler barred him from posting or commenting anything on social, electronic or print media about the case, his defence, the complainant or his family. .Bhardwaj was arrested from Uttar Pradesh on September 5 for allegedly assaulting the father of a Dalit student-activist during the CJP protests at Jantar Mantar in July.He was booked for offences of assault and provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act [SC/ST Act]. A separate FIR invoking provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) has also been registered against him. In the first FIR, Bhardwaj was initially booked only for the offences under Sections 115(2) (causing simple hurt) and 126(2) (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). He later took to social media and claimed that he had cracked the skull of the girl's father and was detained by the police only for a few hours. After Cockroach Janta Party leaders, along with the girl and her father, protested at the Parliament Street police station, more serious charges were added, and Bhardwaj was arrested..Bhardwaj had earlier approached the Delhi High Court with a habeas corpus plea to declare his arrest illegal. However, the Court rejected that plea. He is presently in judicial custody. .During bail hearings before the trial court, advocate Umesh Chandra Sharma appeared for Bhardwaj and argued that he was arrested by the Delhi Police due to political reasons and that it was the complainant who attacked him. Sharma said that there is a video of the complainant attacking him, but the Delhi Police has taken no action against the complainant. On the other hand, advocate Swati Khanna appeared for the complainant and stated that Bhardwaj used casteist slurs against the complainant and even admitted on a video that it was he who attacked the complainant.Khanna also informed the Court that Bhardwaj had filed a habeas corpus plea in the Delhi High Court and the same has been rejected.Meanwhile, the Delhi Police told the Court that when the complaint was first registered, no mention was made of any casteist slur used by Bhardwaj. Later when the statement of the complainant was recorded again, he mentioned use of casteist slur and therefore, the SC/ST Act was invoked..In a detailed order running into 17 pages, the Court also highlighted that there were several deficiencies in the police probe. ASJ Laler added that the abusive and sexually explicit messages sent from several numbers to the complainant and his minor daughter are not traceable to Bhardwaj. The Court further noted that when the FIR was registered for the first time in June, allegations of caste-based insult were not mentioned. They surfaced for the first time about ten weeks later. "A belated allegation is not, for that reason alone, false; nor can this Court decide its truth at the threshold. It is nonetheless a circumstance that bears on the weight to be given to the accusation for the limited purpose of bail," the Court said. .Advocates Umesh Sharma, Chhaya Sharma, Neeraj Chauhan, Nishant Choudhary and Naveen Sharma appeared for Swatantra Bhardwaj. Advocates Swati Khanna, Mohd Yasin, Omar Hoda, Rishav Ranjan, Ayesha Khan and Rishabh Singh represented the complainant. Advocate Santosh Kumar represented the State. .[Read Order]
