Delhi HC Agrees To Hear Swatantra Bhardwaj’s Plea Against Arrest

The Delhi High Court on Monday agreed to urgently hear Swatantra Bhardwaj’s plea against his arrest in the Jantar Mantar assault case. The habeas corpus petition was mentioned before Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, who allowed it to be listed during the day.

Advocate Umesh Sharma told PTI, “The person is in custody for the last three days, I am praying that the habeas corpus petition be listed today”. PTI reported that Bhardwaj was detained in Bulandshahr on September 4 and later sent to one-day judicial custody. Delhi Police has added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR, and a POCSO case has also been registered against him.

Arrest And Custody

A magistrate remanded Bhardwaj on Sunday. Appearing through a video link, the influencer received a single day of judicial custody. That decision followed a September 5 hearing at a sessions judge's Delhi home, where Delhi Police secured approval for 24 hours of custodial interrogation.

Police have also widened the case against him. The charges now include attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, the POCSO Act and provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

PTI reported that Bhardwaj was detained in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, hours after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) staged a protest outside Parliament Street police station demanding his arrest. The case arises from the alleged assault on Sanjay Kumar, the father of a teenage student activist, during a CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar in June.

Political Fallout And Claims

The political backlash followed fast.

According to The New Indian Express, Union Minister Chirag Paswan publicly rejected Bhardwaj’s claim that he was his political backer on September 5. Paswan said Bhardwaj had misused his name and lodged a formal police complaint seeking strict action against him.

Delhi Police also pushed back against allegations of political interference or delay, clarifying that its initial action was based on a medical report that categorised the victim’s injuries as simple.

Public anger forced the police into action. PTI reported that Bhardwaj bragged during a broadcast about having “cracked the skull” of the student’s father at the June 23 rally, asserting that his high-level political ties kept him out of jail.

Interview Remarks And Complaint

In the remarks that set off outrage, Bhardwaj referred to the student activist’s father and said he had “cracked the skull”. He also claimed he had escaped arrest because of his political connections.

Bhardwaj told PTI in an interview, “I cracked the skull… Do you know which section this crime attracts? Section 307. He needed 60 stitches,” and the comments became central to the renewed focus on the June 23 protest case.

The student had earlier alleged that she faced rape threats, verbal abuse and morphed images after she spoke out against the alleged assault on her father and filed a police complaint. The outrage over the interview was followed by police action against Bhardwaj.