The Delhi High Court has scheduled a hearing on April 29 to review the bail plea of Neelam Azad, the sole female accused in the 2023 Parliament security breach incident. Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar will also consider the bail request of co-accused Manoranjan D. simultaneously.
During the preliminary proceedings, the bench requested the police to clarify if the use of a non-lethal smoke canister falls under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) as an act of terrorism. This query arose after the accused were reported to have used such canisters during a disturbance at the Parliament on the anniversary of the 2001 terror attack.
The incident involved Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D., who reportedly leaped into the Lok Sabha chamber, releasing yellow gas from canisters while shouting slogans. Concurrently, Amol Shinde and Azad were accused of dispersing colored gas outside the Parliament, chanting against authoritarianism.
Highlighting the widespread availability of smoke canisters, the court remarked, “If a smoke canister, freely available in the market, would attract UAPA, then people would be committing this offence on every Holi and even Indian Premier League (IPL) matches could also attract this provision.”
Azad’s legal team argued that the UAPA’s stringent provisions were inapplicable in this scenario. Under Section 15 of UAPA, a ‘terrorist act’ involves actions intended to threaten the nation’s unity, security, or sovereignty, typically using explosives or other hazardous substances to inflict harm or disrupt essential services.
