Swatantra Bhardwaj, currently in judicial custody, is accused of assaulting the father of a student-activist during the Cockroach Janta Party’s protest at Jantar Mantar in July. He was arrested in Uttar Pradesh on 5 September 2026 and faces charges under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The Delhi High Court has previously rejected his habeas corpus plea challenging the legality of his arrest.According to Bar and Bench, Bhardwaj told the Delhi court that his arrest was politically motivated and asserted that it was the complainant who attacked him. His counsel, Umesh Sharma, presented a video in court which he claimed showed the complainant attacking Bhardwaj, and argued that the police had not taken any action against the complainant despite this evidence.As reported by Live Law, the court reserved its order on Bhardwaj’s bail plea after hearing arguments from both sides. The proceedings were held in camera due to the sensitive nature of the case, which involves allegations under both the SC/ST Act and the POCSO Act. The judge was informed that Bhardwaj was arrested under the SC/ST Act FIR, not the POCSO Act case.During the hearing, Bhardwaj’s counsel stated, “Police ko wo video nazar nahi aa raha... Is video m clearly dikhai de raha hai ki complainant is mujhpe attack kiya hai aur main gir gaya hu (The police are not able to see that video. It is clearly visible in this video that the complainant attacked me and I fell down),” directly addressing the court’s attention to the video evidence.The complainant’s advocate, Swati Khanna, countered these claims by stating that Bhardwaj had used casteist slurs and had admitted in a video to attacking the complainant. The advocate also noted that Bhardwaj’s habeas corpus plea had already been rejected by the Delhi High Court. Courtroom exchanges highlighted the conflicting narratives presented by both parties.Jantar Mantar Assault Accused Swatantra Bhardwaj Arrested By Delhi PoliceDelhi Police informed the court that the initial complaint did not mention casteist slurs, but these were added in a subsequent statement, leading to the invocation of the SC/ST Act. Further details revealed that Bhardwaj was initially booked under sections for causing simple hurt and wrongful restraint, with more serious charges added after protests by Cockroach Janta Party leaders and the complainant’s family.“The police issued me a notice on June 27 to appear for questioning, and I appeared for questioning on June 29. After that, I was allowed to go. Then, after some political developments, I was arrested on September 4. After my arrest, a new FIR [under POCSO] was registered,” Bhardwaj’s counsel told the court.Bhardwaj’s social media activity was also referenced, where he claimed to have political connections and proximity to NDA leaders Kapil Mishra and Chirag Paswan. Paswan publicly denied any association and filed a separate complaint against Bhardwaj for misusing his name. Statements from both sides were recorded as part of the ongoing legal proceedings.The court is expected to deliver its order on Bhardwaj’s bail application after considering all submissions. Final arguments concluded with the judge reserving the verdict, and Bhardwaj remains in judicial custody pending the outcome.Hate, Islamophobia, Bounty on Swara: Why Was Bhardwaj ‘Swatantra’ For So Long?Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.