A Delhi court has granted regular bail to Swatantra Bhardwaj in a case linked to the alleged assault of Sanjay Kumar, the father of student activist Nishu Azad. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler passed the order after considering Bhardwaj’s conduct during the three-week interim bail period. The detailed order is awaited.
The court had earlier granted Bhardwaj interim bail on September 15 and said his conduct during that period would be considered while deciding his plea for regular bail.
During the interim bail, Bhardwaj was prohibited from posting, publishing or discussing the case, his defence or the complainant’s family on social media or any other media platform. He was also barred from contacting the complainant, his daughter or any witness, and from interfering with the evidence in the case.
The case comes from Swatantra Bhardwaj claimed in a video interview that he had assaulted Sanjay Kumar, the father of student activist Nishu Azad during Jantar Mantar protest over NEET alleged paper leak.
While granting the interim relief, the court observed that bail was an expression of the court’s trust and “not a trophy to be displayed”. It also cautioned Bhardwaj against holding any public celebration following his release on bail.
The case relates to the June 23 crackdown at Jantar Mantar, where students were protesting over grievances concerning the education system.
Bhardwaj claimed that he had “cracked the skull” of Kumar, who he said suffered serious head injuries and required 60 stitches. He also claimed that the incident warranted a case under Section 307 of the IPC, which deals with attempt to murder, but alleged that he was released within a day following a phone call from Delhi BJP leader Kapil Mishra.
I cracked the skull… Do you know which section this crime attracts? Attempt to murder, Section 307. He needed 7 stitches,” Bhardwaj said in the podcast.
“The man was dying, being taken in an ambulance. His daughter was standing outside the police station and saying that, if her father didn’t get justice, she would consume poison and die… We didn’t even go to jail. The whole world should know this. We didn’t even go to jail,” he claimed.
Following the podcast, he was booked for offenses of assault and provisions under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act [SC/ST Act]. Additionally, a separate FIR with provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) has also been registered against him.
“I didn’t even go to jail,” Bhardwaj claimed, adding that he had the “blessings of Lord Hanuman”. He described Mishra and Union minister Chirag Paswan as his “bade bhai” (elder brothers) and referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his “big brother”.
Bhardwaj also claimed that the footwear he wore during the incident belonged to the Delhi Police, but did not explain how he had obtained the baton he was seen carrying in a photograph that surfaced later.
