Delhi court rejects bail plea of two accused in 2023 Parliament security breach case

A Delhi court has dismissed the bail pleas of accused Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma for a second time. The judge stated that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act's statutory bar applies in this case. The two accused disrupted parliamentary pro...

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The judge underlined that the statutory bar on bail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act applied in the present case.

New Delhi, A Delhi court has dismissed the regular bail pleas of two accused in the December 23 Parliament security breach case for a second time.

In an order passed on Friday, Special Judge Kiran Bansal noted that the accused -- Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma -- sought bail citing long incarceration and parity with two co-accused who were granted bail by the Delhi High Court.

The judge underlined that the statutory bar on bail under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act applied in the present case.


"There are reasonable grounds to believe that the charges against the accused persons is prima facie true. Therefore, the court does not find it fit to grant regular bail to applicants Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma. The present bail applications stand dismissed," the judge said.

On July 2, 2025, the Delhi High Court granted bail to co-accused Neelam Raoliya alias Neelam Azad and Mahesh Kumawat.

"The grounds of parity are not available to the present accused persons," the judge said on Friday's hearing.
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It observed that the high court had noted that Neelam stayed outside Parliament and Mahesh was not in Delhi that day.

"However, the present two accused persons had entered the main Parliament and jumped from the public gallery to the main hall of the Lok Sabha," the court said, adding that canisters "were concealed in the shoes and parliamentary proceedings were disrupted."

The order said, "There is a statutory bar under Section 43D(5) of the UA(P)A and the accused cannot be released on bail if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the accusations against the accused persons are prima facie true."

Examining the chargesheet and supplementary chargesheets, the court said, "The allegations against the accused persons are grave and serious, as their acts had resulted in disrupting parliamentary proceedings and threatened the sovereignty and integrity of India."
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The court noted that the accused chose the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack to commit the act. It also noted the allegation that the accused erased data from their phones and handed the devices to co-accused Lalit Jha for destruction.

The judge said bail cannot be granted solely on the ground of delay.
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"Needless to say, nothing observed herein shall have a bearing upon the merits of the case," the court said.

On December 13, 2023, in a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, two persons, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D, jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the visitors' gallery, unleashed yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans, before being overpowered by some MPs and watch-and-ward staff.

Around the same time, two other accused, Neelam Raolia and Amol Dhanraj Shinde, also sprayed coloured gas from canisters outside the Parliament, while shouting "tanashahi nahi chalegi" (dictatorship cannot go on).

Six persons -- Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Neelam Raolia, Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat -- are accused in the case.
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