Delhi court grants regular bail to Swatantra Bhardwaj

A Delhi court granted Swatantra Bhardwaj regular bail on October 6 in a case involving the alleged assault of a protester’s father at Jantar Mantar. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler issued the order after Bhardwaj spent three weeks on interim bail, during which the court had said it would observe his conduct before deciding his regular-bail request. The detailed order was not available in the reports, leaving the court’s reasoning and any conditions attached to regular bail unclear. The case concerns an alleged assault during a July demonstration organized by the Cockroach Janta Party, or CJP. The complainant is identified in reports as the father of a student activist; one report names him as Sanjay Kumar. The court granted interim bail on September 15 for three weeks. Its conditions included barring Bhardwaj from contacting the complainant, his daughter or witnesses, interfering with evidence, or discussing the case, his defence or the complainant’s family on social media or other media platforms. Those conditions were reported as part of the interim order; the available accounts do not establish whether they were carried over into the regular-bail order.