Delhi Court Grants Regular Bail To Influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj In Jantar Mantar Assault Case

The Patiala House Court in Delhi has granted regular bail to self-styled influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj, who was arrested over the alleged assault of Sanjay Kumar, the father of a minor activist, during a protest at Jantar Mantar.

Bhardwaj was arrested in connection with the July incident and had earlier received three weeks of interim bail from the court on September 15 while his regular bail plea was being considered.

Bhardwaj Accused Of Assaulting Minor Activist’s Father

According to the case, Bhardwaj allegedly assaulted Sanjay Kumar during a demonstration at Jantar Mantar in July.

The Delhi Police had said that Kumar’s injuries were “simple” in nature and were allegedly caused by a steel bracelet.

The FIR includes provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and sections relating to criminal intimidation.

Court Questioned SC/ST Act Allegations

During the hearing of Bhardwaj’s bail plea in September, the Patiala House Court questioned the Delhi Police over allegations that caste-indicative words had been used during the incident.

The prosecution told the court that the initial complaint did not contain any allegation of such language. The allegation was reportedly made later when the complainant’s statement was recorded again, following which provisions of the SC/ST Act were added to the FIR.

Arrest In Bulandshahr

Bhardwaj was detained 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 subsequently dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Bhardwaj challenging his arrest. A Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Ravinder Dudeja held that the petition was not maintainable after Bhardwaj had already been sent to judicial custody.

Viral Video Triggered Controversy

The case gained attention after a purported viral video surfaced in which Bhardwaj claimed to have physically assaulted the minor activist’s father during the Jantar Mantar protest and allegedly said he was let off because of his “political connections”.

Bhardwaj later told the media that he had allegedly acted in self-defence.

Separately, a case was registered against Bhardwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act following a complaint by the minor activist, who alleged that she had received online rape threats and faced harassment.