Delhi Court Extends Swatantra Bhardwaj’s Judicial Custody Till September 21

Bharadwaj was arrested on Friday from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh after a video clip of an interview went viral, in which he claimed to have "cracked the skull" of the student's father. He also said he escaped being jailed despite the seriousness of the alleged offence and a protest by CJP members at the Parliament Street Police Station in the national capital.

A day after his detention on Saturday, Bhardwaj was produced at the residence of Judge Laler, who allowed the Delhi Police's plea seeking one-day custodial interrogation of the accused. On Sunday, Bharadwaj was sent to one-day judicial custody.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler has now extended Bhardwaj's judicial custody till September 21.

During his police remand, Bhardwaj was shown the viral videos and questioned by multiple police teams. A police source told news agency PTI that Bhardwaj was asked more than 100 questions during the remand.

While Bhardwaj answered some of the questions, he did not respond to others, the source said. He was also confronted with the statement made by him and showed no sign of remorse during questioning, the report said.

The Delhi Police has added sections of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the charge of criminal intimidation to the FIR registered over the alleged assault.

A fresh FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was also lodged following a complaint by the minor, who alleged that she was subjected to online threats and harassment after speaking out against the assault on her father.

The legal proceedings also moved to the Delhi High Court on Monday, which agreed to grant an urgent hearing on a plea filed by Swatantra Bhardwaj against his arrest in connection with the alleged assault on the father of a student activist.

The habeas corpus petition was mentioned for urgent hearing before a bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia, which allowed it to be listed during the day.

Advocate Umesh Sharma mentioned the matter on behalf of Bhardwaj and said, "the person is in custody for last three days, I am praying that the habeas corpus petition be listed today."

With Bhardwaj's judicial custody now extended till September 21 and the Delhi High Court agreeing to hear his plea urgently, the alleged assault case has moved into a further stage of legal scrutiny.