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Two accused in Parliament security breach case granted bail

Two accused in Parliament security breach case granted bail

Scroll.in3 days ago
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to two persons accused in the 2023 Parliament security breach case, Bar and Bench reported.
A bench of Justices Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar allowed petitions filed by Neelam Azad and Mahesh Kumawat for bail in the case, which was reserved on May 21, Live Law reported.
The bail was subject to Azad and Kumawat furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000 each and two sureties. The two were also barred from holding press conferences or giving interviews, and posting anything on social media about the incident.
The matter pertained to two men, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, jumping into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery and opening gas canisters on December 13, 2023.
Outside Parliament, Azad and a man – Amol Dhanraj Shinde – had opened smoke canisters and shouted 'stop dictatorship' slogans. All four were arrested in connection with the breach.
A day later, the police arrested Lalit Jha, allegedly the mastermind behind the incident, and Kumawat, a co-accused.
The police charged all six under provisions of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
Azad moved the High Court in September 2024 against a city court denying her bail, while Kumawat also filed an appeal in November against the rejection of his bail petition, the Hindustan Times reported.
During earlier proceedings, Azad and Kumawat told the court that the police had wrongly invoked the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act against them, adding that their alleged actions did not construe an act of terrorism.
Azad said that her conduct did not amount to an act of terror as she had entered the premises using a valid pass and without weapons, the Hindustan Times reported. Kumawat said that his intention was to draw attention towards certain issues having democratic and political importance.
However, the police argued that the breach coincided with the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, which was enough to prove that the intention of those accused in the matter was likely to strike terror or threaten the security of the country.
On December 13, 2001, terrorists entered the Parliament complex and began shooting with AK-47 rifles. The attack had left nine persons dead.
The police also submitted that those accused in the case wanted to bring back 'haunted memories' of the 2001 attack to the 'majestic' new Parliament building, Live Law reported.
The bench, however, asked whether an offence under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act could be made out against those accused. It added that if using smoke canisters were a terrorist act, then every Holi and Indian Premier League match would also attract such provisions, Live Law reported.
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