Court grants three weeks’ interim bail to Hindutva influencer

A Delhi court on Tuesday granted three weeks’ interim bail to Hindutva influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj in connection with the alleged assault on the father of a student activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar, among other charges, sources said.

The proceedings were held in camera. According to court sources, the additional sessions judge granted three weeks’ interim bail. A detailed order is awaited. Bhardwaj had been remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody on September 7. Earlier on Monday, the judge had said that the proceedings regarding the bail of the accused would be held in camera. His court staff had then asked media personnel to step outside the court. Later, the court staff said that the order had been reserved for September 15.

Bhardwaj was detained in Bulandshahr on September 4, hours after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protested outside the Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest over the alleged assault. The action followed outrage over an interview in which Bhardwaj claimed he had “cracked the skull” of the student activist’s father during the June 23 protest and escaped arrest because of his political connections.

Bhardwaj was produced at the residence of a judge the next day, who allowed the Delhi Police’s plea seeking a one-day custodial interrogation of the accused. The next day, a magisterial court sent Bhardwaj to one day’s judicial custody. The present court then extended Bhardwaj’s judicial custody till September 21.