The Patiala House Court on Monday sent right-wing influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj to 14 days’ judicial custody in connection with the alleged assault of the father of a Dalit student-activist during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests at Jantar Mantar in July. He was earlier remanded to judicial custody for a day.
Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Partap Singh Laler passed the order after Bhardwaj was produced before the court through video conference. He was arrested from Uttar Pradesh on September 5. He has been booked for assault and offences under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the POCSO Act.
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Bhardwaj had initially been booked only under Sections 115(2) (causing simple hurt) and 126(2) (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The more serious charges were added after CJP leaders, along with the girl and her father, protested at the Parliament Street Police Station.
The court proceedings come amid Bhardwaj’s own social media claims regarding the incident. He had claimed that he had “cracked the skull” of the girl’s father and had been detained by police only for a few hours. He also claimed proximity to NDA leaders Kapil Mishra and Chirag Paswan, which Paswan denied while separately complaining against Bhardwaj for allegedly misusing his name.
Bhardwaj has also moved the Delhi High Court through a habeas corpus petition challenging the legality of his arrest and seeking his release.