The Delhi High Court on Monday agreed to an urgent hearing of a habeas corpus petition moved by right-wing commentator Swatantra Bhardwaj, who is challenging his detention over the alleged assault of an activist’s father earlier this summer.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia permitted the application to be listed for consideration during Monday’s proceedings. Legal counsel Umesh Sharma, representing Bhardwaj, pressed the court for an immediate hearing on the grounds that his client had remained in custody for three consecutive days.
Custodial Proceedings And Detention Timeline
The High Court listing follows a series of remand hearings across the weekend. On Sunday, a duty magistrate remanded Bhardwaj to judicial custody for one day via video conference. Prior to that, investigators produced him at the residence of a sessions judge on September 5, securing a 24-hour custodial interrogation remand.
Bhardwaj was apprehended on September 4 in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. His detention materialized shortly after members of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) staged a demonstration outside the Parliament Street police station in New Delhi, demanding immediate law enforcement action against him.
Background Of The Assault And Statutory Charges
The arrest relates to an altercation that occurred on June 23 at Jantar Mantar during a protest organized by the CJP. Sanjay Kumar, whose teenage daughter is a student activist, was allegedly assaulted during the gathering.
Following the incident, Delhi Police invoked additional penal provisions against Bhardwaj, adding charges under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act alongside criminal intimidation charges to the primary First Information Report. Authorities also booked Bhardwaj under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Investigative Action Spurred By Public Remarks
Police enforcement intensified following widespread public outrage over recorded comments Bhardwaj made during an interview. In the footage, Bhardwaj purported to have fractured Kumar’s skull during the June 23 demonstration, stating the injury necessitated 60 stitches and met the threshold for an attempt-to-murder charge under Section 307. In the same exchange, he claimed political connections had previously shielded him from arrest.
The complainant’s daughter, a minor activist, had separately reported that she was subjected to verbal harassment, doctored photographs, and threats of sexual violence after formally registering a complaint regarding the physical assault on her father.
