New Delhi: A Delhi Court on Tuesday has granted regular bail to activist Swatantra Bhardwaj in a case related to an alleged attack on the father of an activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar.
Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler granted bail to Bhardwaj and imposed certain conditions.
Patiala House Court had earlier granted him interim bail for three weeks.
As part of the bail conditions, Bhardwaj has been directed not to make any social media posts or public statements about the case, his legal defence, or the family of the complainant during the bail period.
He will have to stay away from publicly discussing the case.
During the hearing, Bhardwaj’s lawyer alleged that he was arrested following certain political developments.
The defence also claimed that the complainant had himself attacked Bhardwaj during a protest in June.
The case also involves provisions of the SC/ST Act.
The court had earlier questioned the police about whether Bhardwaj had used caste-based words during the incident.
The Delhi Police told the court that the initial complaint did not mention the use of caste-based words.
The allegation was later made in a subsequent statement, following which provisions of the SC/ST Act were added to the case.
The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed on behalf of Bhardwaj.
Nishu Azad had also sought protection, claiming that she was receiving threats.
The police had added SC/ST Act provisions to an earlier FIR registered against Bhardwaj.
A case under the POCSO Act has also been registered.
In a video, Bhardwaj had claimed that Sanjay Kumar suffered a serious head injury during the protest and received 60 stitches.