Bhardwaj sent to 14-day custody in Jantar Mantar assault case

New Delhi: A Delhi court on Monday sent right-wing influencer Swatantra Bhardwaj to 14 days of judicial custody in connection with the assault on the father of a teenage student activist during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar.

Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler of the Patiala House Courts passed the remand order after Bhardwaj was produced through video conference from Tihar Jail upon the completion of his police remand, The Hindu and The Wire reported. The judge directed that he be produced again on September 21.

The order marks the culmination of four turbulent days of police and court proceedings. Bhardwaj was detained in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, on September 4 — hours after CJP leaders and supporters held an impassioned sit-in outside the Parliament Street police station demanding immediate action. He was remanded to one-day police custody on September 5 by Judge Laler during a hearing conducted at the judge's residence due to security considerations, followed by a one-day interim judicial remand on Sunday by Duty Magistrate Anjali Singh.

The assault case stems from an altercation during the CJP-led youth demonstrations at Jantar Mantar. Sanjay Kumar (also known as Sanjay Azad), a 38-year-old resident of Ghaziabad and father of minor CJP activist Nishu Azad, sustained a head injury from a metal kada during a scuffle at the protest site. Initially registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita sections for voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful restraint, the FIR was subsequently expanded by Delhi Police to invoke the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation. A separate FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act was also registered over online threats directed at the minor activist.

Scrutiny intensified after an online podcast interview surfaced in which Bhardwaj openly boasted of the assault, claiming he had "cracked the skull" of the girl's father and asserted that high-level political patronage shielded him from jail time. Bhardwaj had named NDA figures including Union Minister Chirag Paswan; Paswan categorically rejected any ties and lodged a police complaint against the unauthorised use of his name.

Bhardwaj has also filed a habeas corpus petition before the Delhi High Court challenging the lawfulness of his initial detention, News24 reported.

What we can verify

• 14-day judicial remand: ASJ Saurabh Pratap Singh Laler of Patiala House Courts remanded Bhardwaj to judicial custody until September 21; production was conducted via video conference from Tihar Jail. — The Hindu, The Wire, Bar and Bench
• Procedural timeline: Detained by Delhi Police Crime Branch in Bulandshahr on September 4 → 1-day police custody granted September 5 → 1-day judicial custody granted September 6 → 14-day judicial custody ordered September 7. — The Hindu, News24
• Statutory provisions invoked: Charges include BNS hurt provisions, SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act sections, and criminal intimidation, alongside a separate POCSO case concerning threats to a minor. — The Hindu, The Wire
• Viral confession: Bhardwaj boasted on video that he struck the victim with a kada and evaded initial arrest through political patronage. — The Wire, News24
• Paswan disclaimer: Chirag Paswan denied any connection to Bhardwaj and filed a police complaint regarding the unauthorised invocation of his name. — News24

What remains unverified

• The exact date of the underlying scuffle at Jantar Mantar is disputed: CJP statements cite July 20, whereas initial Delhi Police releases state June 23. [unverified]
• Bhardwaj's claim that the victim received "60 stitches" contradicts official medical assessment from RML Hospital, which described the wound as a simple head injury. [unverified]
• Bhardwaj's claims of intervention by specific political figures during his initial detention remain uncorroborated assertions without official substantiation. [unverified]
• The outcome and status of Bhardwaj's habeas corpus plea in the Delhi High Court remain pending judicial determination. [unverified]