Parliament security breach: Judicial custody of all 6 accused 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.

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

The court has scheduled a hearing on February 17 to address an application filed by some of the arrested individuals, alleging that the police forcibly obtained their signatures on blank papers.

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

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

Link judge Sudhanshu Kaushik had issued a production warrant and directed the jail authorities to produce the accused on January 31.

On January 18, Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur had denied bail to Azad.

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

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.