Right-wing influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj has filed a Habeas Corpus plea before the Delhi High Court to declare his arrest by Delhi Police as illegal..The Court agreed to hear the matter on urgent basis today after it was mentioned before Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya.Advocate Umesh Sharma mentioned the case. He pointed out that Bhardwaj is in custody for three days. According to the petition, Bhardwaj's arrest was illegal and he should be released from custody..Bhardwaj was arrested from Uttar Pradesh on September 5 for allegedly assaulting the father of a Dalit student-activist during the Cockroach Janta Party's (CJP) protests at Jantar Mantar in July.He has been booked for offence of assault and provisions under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act [SC/ST Act] and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).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 had cracked the skull of the girl's father and was detained by the police only for a few hours. He also claimed proximity to NDA leaders Kapil Mishra and Chirag Paswan.Paswan denied the same and also lodged a separate complaint against Bhardwaj for misusing his name.Meanwhile, 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 he was arrested..He was remanded to judicial custody for a day on Sunday, September 6 by the Duty Magistrate. He will be produced before the Magistrate again today when his further judicial remand will be considered.
