Terrorising MPs and others can't be condoned: Delhi Police opposes bail pleas in Parliament security breach case

Opposing the bail pleas of three accused in the 2023 Parliament security breach case, police on Monday told the Delhi High Court here that carrying inflammable material inside the Parliament in smoke canisters and terrorising the minds of the parliamentarians cannot be condoned.

Opposing the bail pleas of three accused in the 2023 Parliament security breach case, police on Monday told the Delhi High Court here that carrying inflammable material inside the Parliament in smoke canisters and ''terrorising the minds'' of the parliamentarians cannot be condoned. The counsel for the Delhi Police said Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma were the ''lead players'' in the ''high-level'' conspiracy, and their actions created havoc, which was seen live on television. A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Madhu Jain was hearing the bail plea by the accused Manoranjan D, Sharma and Lalit Jha. ''There was a threat to the sovereignty and integrity of the country. They terrorised the minds of the parliamentarians, the staff and those watching,'' said the police counsel. The Delhi Police lawyer further stated that the pamphlets with the accused carried an ''open threat'' to the prime minister and they intended to ''usurp power''. Use of smoke canisters containing inflammatory material and jumping into the Parliament cannot be condoned, he submitted. He also said that if released, the accused could influence the material witnesses, who were yet to be examined, and could also flee from trial. The senior counsel for the accused, however, said the high court has already granted bail to two co-accused in the case. He urged the court to grant the relief to the three applicants as well, saying the trial was unlikely to conclude in the near future as even the charges were yet to be framed. On being informed that the trial court was scheduled to take up the case on February 6, the court said it would hear the matter on March 17. ''Let's see if charges are framed (by then),'' the bench said. The senior lawyer for the accused reiterated that while the Parliament was the temple of democracy and their way of ''protest'' might not be right, the court should consider that they were not terrorists and nobody was injured. In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, accused Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D allegedly jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during the Zero Hour on December 13, 2023, released yellow gas from canisters and raised slogans before they were overpowered by some MPs. Around the same time, two other accused -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Azad -- allegedly sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting ''tanashahi nahi chalegi (will not allow dictatorship)'' outside the Parliament premises. The Delhi Police had registered the FIR on the next day of the incident under sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Accused Neelam Azad and Mahesh Kumawat were granted bail by the high court in July 2025.

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