HC to hear habeas corpus plea on Swatantra Bhardwaj's arrest today | India News

The Delhi High Court on Monday will hear a habeas corpus petition concerning right-wing ‘influencer’ Swatantra Bhardwaj, who was arrested last week in connection with the alleged assault on a student activist's father during a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar. The announcement came after the matter was mentioned before a bench of chief justice DK Upadhyaya and justice Tejas Karia. Bhardwaj’s counsel had sought an urgent hearing, saying his client has been in custody for the last three days. The ‘influencer’ was arrested on Friday after being detained in Uttar Pradesh's Bulandshahr and sent to a daylong police custody by a Delhi court on Saturday.The police action followed outrage over a video podcast, in which Bhardwaj allegedly claimed that he had "cracked the skull" of the minor activist's father during the protest. He had subsequently claimed that he had acted in self-defence. The Delhi Police had earlier said the injuries suffered by the student activist's father were "simple in nature".On Sunday, a Delhi court sent Bhardwaj to one-day judicial custody in the case that was registered under the SC/ST Act. He was produced before Duty Magistrate Anjali Singh of Patiala House Court through video conference by the Delhi Police. Several supporters of the self-proclaimed Hindutva influencer had gathered outside the Parliament Street police station on Saturday, demanding the withdrawal of the case against Bhardwaj and a fair investigation.