Parliament security breach: Delhi HC grants bail to Neelam Azad, Mahesh Kumawat

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to two accused in the 2023 Parliament security breach case, forbidding them from talking about the incident to the press or on social media.

A bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar granted the reprieve to Neelam Azad and Mahesh Kumawat on a personal bond of Rs 50,000 each and two sureties.

''We are granting bail... They shall not give interviews, or make any statement regarding the case before the press or social media. They shall not leave Delhi and appear before investigating agency every Monday Wednesday and Friday,'' the court said.

The accused challenged a trial court's order rejecting their bail plea in the December 2023 incident.

In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, accused Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D allegedly jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and sloganeered before they were overpowered by some MPs.

Around the same time, two other accused -- Amol Shinde and Azad -- allegedly sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting ''tanashahi nahi chalegi (dictatorship won't work)'' outside Parliament premises.

Delhi police had opposed the applications, alleging that the accused intended to bring back ''haunted memories'' of the 2001 Parliament attack.

It said the preliminary inquiry revealed that Azad and Shinde were associates of Sharma and Manoranjan D and they together carried out the terror act.

The court had previously asked the accused the reason for choosing the specific date of December 13, which marked the infamous 2001 Parliament attack aside from the place for protest being aware of designated spots for protests in the capital.

It also asked the police to explain whether carrying or using a smoke canister, inside and outside Parliament attracted UAPA and if it fell under the definition of terrorist activities.

The trial court rejected Azad's bail plea, saying there was sufficient evidence to believe that allegations against her were ''prima facie'' true.

All the accused persons -- Azad, Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat -- already had the knowledge about the threat given by designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannu for targeting Parliament on December 13, 2023, it added.

While four accused were taken into custody from the spot, Jha and Kumawat were arrested later.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)