Parliament breach: Delhi court grants interim bail to accused on humanitarian grounds

A Delhi court last week granted one month interim bail to Sagar Sharma, one of the accused in the 2023 Parliament security breach case, on humanitarian grounds following the death of his father. 

Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal of the Patiala House Courts allowed the plea after Mr. Sharma informed the court that his father died of cancer on July 14 and that he was required to perform the last rites and related rituals as the only male member of his family. 

The court made it clear that the interim bail was being granted solely on humanitarian considerations and should not be construed as a comment on the merits of the case. The Delhi Police did not oppose the application. 

As part of the bail conditions, the court directed Mr. Sharma not to interact with the media through interviews or press conferences. He was also restrained from posting any content related to the Parliament security breach on social media during the period of interim bail. 

In a major security breach in the Parliament on December 13, 2023, Mr. Sharma and one his friends Manoranjan. D, jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber during Zero Hour from the visitors’ gallery, carrying canisters emitting yellow smoke. The smoke spread throughout the House, causing chaos and confusion. The two were caught by the MPs and handed over to the police. 

The police later arrested Neelam Azad, followed by Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Lalit Jha, and Mahesh Kumawat. The police have invoked anti-terror provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on the accused and maintained that the act of the security breach in the Parliament was a ‘well planned conspiracy’.