On January 4, 2022, India’s Patiala House Court called upon the Delhi Police to file a response toward the bail plea of Neelam Azad, the sole woman involved in the controversial Parliamentary security breach last month. The deadline set for this filing is January 10.
The incident occurred on December 13, coinciding with the anniversary of an attack on the Parliament that occurred back in 2001. Two offenders entered the lower house of the Parliament via visitor’s passes. Shortly after the session’s commencement, they reportedly vaulted from the public gallery, released a yellow gas, and screamed out various slogans.
Neelam Azad’s defense rests on her proclamation that her rights, specified under the Constitution of India’s Article 22, designed to protect arrested and detained civilians, were violated. Furthermore, Azad claims she was presented to a magistrate after a delay of 29 hours, rather than within the provided 24-hour window. Her plea also describes how she was not granted sufficient time to converse with her appointed District Legal Services Authority counsel.
Akhand Pratap Singh, the opposing Special Public Prosecutor, disputed the bail appeal on the grounds of maintainability. Concurrently, the Special Police in Delhi approached the court, seeking approval to conduct a polygraph test on all six individuals implicated in the breach.
Judge Hardeep Kaur of Additional Sessions presided over the court, and adjourned the matter until January 5, after observing the absence of the DLSA-appointed counsel.
All six suspected participants in the breach have been arrested. As per the accusation, these individuals hail from various Indian states but know each other. The suspects are also said to be disgruntled by the nation’s farmer’s protests, racial violence in Manipur, and a rising unemployment rate.
After gaining entrance with passes authorized by elected representative Prathap Simha of Mysore, Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma are alleged to have leaped from the gallery, causing panic in the house by igniting smoke canisters. Accomplices Neelam Azad and Amol Shinde could not procure visitor passes and hence orchestrated their protest outside the Parliament, allegedly releasing colored gas and shouting slogans.
The alleged culprits have all been apprehended and charged under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and certain sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
On December 22, the Delhi court extended the police custody of the accused until January 5. All accused currently remain in police custody.