Delhi High Court Grants Bail to Two Accused in Parliament Security Breach Case
The Wire Staff
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Wednesday (July 2) granted bail to two individuals – Neelam Azad and Mahesh Kumawat – accused in the parliament security breach case in 2023, Bar and Bench reported. They were arrested under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
This comes months after the additional sessions judge Hardeep Kaur of the Patiala house court rejected the bail plea of Azad. The Delhi high court had also rejected a habeas corpus plea by Azad in January.
A bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, granted them bail while imposing that they do not make any statement regarding the case before the press or on social media.
"We are granting bail on Rs 50,000 surety. He shall not give interviews, or make any statement regarding the case before the press or social media. He shall not leave Delhi and appear before investigating agency every Monday, Wednesday and Friday," the bench stated.
In a previous hearing, the high court had questioned how the use of non-lethal smoke canister could be termed as a “terrorist act” that warrants charges under the UAPA.
It had noted that such canisters were freely available in the market and if it can attract UAPA, then people who use them to celebrate festivals like Holi, or even during Indian Premier League (IPL) matches, would attract UAPA.
The matter pertains to an incident on December 13, 2023, when two individuals had breached parliament security, jumped from the public gallery into the Lok Sabha hall and opened smoke canisters, causing House proceedings to be interrupted.
The incident also occurred on the anniversary of the 2001 attack on the parliament, then housed in a different building.
A total of five people were arrested.
Azad was arrested by the Delhi Police the same day, along with three other accused – Sagar Sharma, Manoranjan D and Amol Shinde.
According to police records, Azad and Shinde were protesting outside parliament building, while Sharma and Manoranjan D had entered the Lok Sabha with smoke canisters. Later, police had arrested the alleged masterminds behind the act – Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat.
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