Parliament security breach: Judicial custody of all 6 extended till March 1

New Delhi: Delhi’s Patiala House Court has extended the judicial custody of all the six accused in the December 13, 2023 Parliament security breach case till March 1.

Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur, who presided over the proceedings, noted the presence of all the accused — Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Neelam Devi Azad, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat — in the courtroom.

Five of the six individuals — Manoranjan, Sharma, Shinde, Jha and Kumawat — told the court that they are allegedly being tortured by Delhi Police to admit their association with opposition parties. They claimed they were coerced into signing about 70 blank papers and forced to confess their involvement with national political parties.

In a joint petition, the accused stated: “Accused persons were tortured/given electric shocks to sign and confess (to) the commission of crime under the UAPA and their association with national political parties.”

The joint petition further revealed that during polygraph, narco, and brain mapping tests, the individuals were pressurised to name a political party or leader.

They were also compelled to provide social media account, email, and phone passwords during the alleged illegal procedures.

The court has scheduled a hearing on February 17 to address the application filed by these arrested individuals.

The court has also sought a response from Delhi Police regarding this application.

The judge granted a further 30-day extension to their judicial custody.

Last time, the court had allowed Delhi Police’s application seeking production warrant for all the six accused.

Judge Sudhanshu Kaushik had issued a production warrant and directed the jail authorities to produce the accused on January 31. On January 18, the judge had denied bail to Azad.

Neelam Azad, the sixth accused, had previously alleged that police forced her to sign several blank papers.

Azad’s application is currently pending before the court.

Azad had alleged that a woman officer forcibly made her sign over 50 blank papers.

Special public prosecutor Akhand Pratap Singh had objected to the allegation, as the court recorded the submissions from both sides. Earlier, except Azad, the five others gave their consent before the court to undergo polygraph test, as sought by the Delhi Police which had moved an application seeking permission for the same, saying the investigators need to get more details to make the case strong and gather more evidence to unearth the entire conspiracy. The police had also sought permission to conduct brain mapping and narco test on Manoranjan and Sagar.

The duo had burst yellow smoke canisters inside the Lok Sabha chamber on December 13, the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, after jumping from the visitors’ gallery before they were overpowered by the MPs present in the House.

Two others — Azad and Shinde — also burst smoke canisters and raised slogans outside the Parliament.

Jha is believed to be the mastermind of the entire plan, who reportedly fled with the mobile phones of the four other accused persons.