Right-wing activist Swatantra Bhardwaj has asserted in a Delhi court that his arrest by the local police was politically motivated, insisting that it was the complainant who initiated the attack against him. Bhardwaj faces allegations of assaulting the father of a student activist during the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protests at Jantar Mantar in July. His legal counsel, Umesh Sharma, presented this argument during a bail hearing conducted in-camera before Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler.
According to Sharma, video evidence exists showing the complainant attacking Bhardwaj, yet no action has been taken against the complainant by the authorities. “The police seem unable to see the video… It clearly shows the complainant attacking me, and I fell down,” Sharma stated in court.
Bhardwaj was initially arrested under the provisions of the SC/ST Act, with an additional FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act filed against him. Sharma detailed that Bhardwaj had received a notice from the police on June 27 to appear for questioning, which he complied with on June 29. Despite being allowed to leave afterward, he was arrested on September 4 following certain political developments, with a new FIR under POCSO subsequently registered.
On the flip side, advocate Swati Khanna, representing the complainant, argued that Bhardwaj used casteist slurs and even confessed in a video to attacking the complainant. Khanna also pointed out that Bhardwaj’s habeas corpus plea filed with the Delhi High Court was rejected.
During the proceedings, the Delhi Police informed the court that the initial complaint made no mention of casteist slurs, but these were later included in a subsequent statement, prompting the invocation of the SC/ST Act. Following the hearing, the court reserved its verdict on the bail application.
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Bhardwaj was apprehended from Uttar Pradesh on September 5 for allegedly assaulting the father of a Dalit student activist during the CJP protests. He faces charges of assault, violations under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, and the POCSO Act. Initially, he was booked for offences under Sections 115(2) (causing simple hurt) and 126(2) (wrongful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
In social media posts, Bhardwaj claimed to have inflicted serious injury on the complainant and suggested political backing from NDA leaders Kapil Mishra and Chirag Paswan. However, Paswan denied any association and filed a separate complaint against Bhardwaj for misusing his name.
As tensions escalated with further protests by CJP leaders and the complainant’s family, additional charges were filed, leading to Bhardwaj’s arrest. His petition to the Delhi High Court to declare his arrest illegal was dismissed, and he remains in judicial custody.
