New Delhi: After three weeks of interim relief, a Delhi court on Tuesday granted regular bail to influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj in a case related to the alleged assault of a student activist’s father during a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar in June-July.A detailed order by additional sessions judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler is awaited.While the counsel for the complainant opposed the bail plea, advocate Umaesh Chandra Sharma, representing Bhardwaj, submitted that the applicant had been on his best behaviour during the period of interim bail and violated none of the conditions imposed by the court.While granting him interim bail for three weeks on Sept 15, the court had observed that his conduct during the period would be considered while deciding his regular bail plea.At that time, the court had noted a “significant ground uncovered” in the investigation, pointing to the disputed authenticity of a podcast and gaps, including the lack of forensic examination, CCTV and police recordings, Bhardwaj’s call details and location data, information from social media providers, witness statements and clarity regarding co-accused Suraj Kumar.The investigating officer (IO) was directed to address these gaps and monitor Bhardwaj’s conduct during the period of interim relief, with the IO asked to report any breach to the court.The observations came after Delhi Police arrested Bhardwaj in UP’s Bulandshahr on Sept 5, days after he had gloated on social media that he “cracked the skull open” of the complainant’s father, following a protest at Parliament Street police station.Criticising Bhardwaj’s conduct, Laler had observed, “Public displays of that kind, whether on the street or on social media, do not augur well for society or for law and order, and erode public’s confidence in the administration of justice.”The court had also directed Bhardwaj not to post, publish or discuss the case, his defence or the complainant’s family on social media or any other media platform, and not to contact the complainant, her daughter or any witness or interfere with evidence.
