The Delhi High Court on Monday rejected a habeas corpus petition filed by Swatantra Bhardwaj challenging his arrest in a case concerning the alleged assault of the father of a teenage Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) activist during a protest at Jantar Mantar in July.

A Division Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Ravinder Dudeja passed the order.

Bhardwaj's counsel argued that even a single day of illegal custody would be impermissible. Opposing the plea, Delhi Police counsel Sanjay Lao submitted that Bhardwaj was initially remanded to one day of police custody, after which he was produced before a duty magistrate and sent to judicial custody.

Lao further informed the Court that Bhardwaj was produced before the concerned court on Monday and had been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.

"Once there is a legal order, they can challenge it there. Where is the question of habeas corpus?" Lao submitted.

During the hearing, the Bench questioned the parties over a claim that the FIR against Bhardwaj had already been quashed by the Supreme Court.

The Court orally observed, "He (counsel for Bhardwaj) says that as per SC order, this FIR has been quashed. Please confirm it to us if it is quashed or not. If it is quashed then why should he be in custody?"

Advocate Swati Khanna, appearing for the complainant, submitted that the case involved provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Bhardwaj's counsel, however, pointed out that the FIR itself referred to the CJP protest.

The Court was also informed that provisions of the SC/ST Act had been added to the FIR at a later stage.

The Bench noted the petitioner's contention that the FIR had been tagged with other cases and quashed by the Supreme Court on September 1. However, the Court also pointed out that this particular ground had not been raised in the habeas corpus petition.

"Even if we would have issued notice, what reply would they have filed?" the Bench asked Bhardwaj's counsel.

Delhi Police, meanwhile, disputed the claim that the FIR had been quashed by the Supreme Court. Lao submitted that the FIR in the present case was not among those quashed by the apex court.

In its order, the High Court noted that Bhardwaj had claimed that his custody was illegal because the FIR had been quashed, but that this ground was not part of the petition.

"Mr. Lao states this FIR has not been quashed by Supreme Court. We may note that copy of FIR 91 of 2026 has not been supplied to petitioner. We fail to understand how this prayer is sought in habeas corpus writ," the Court said while dismissing the plea.

The petition was heard urgently after Bhardwaj's lawyer, Advocate Umesh Sharma, sought an urgent hearing through mentioning. The petition was filed by Bhardwaj through his father, Randhir Kumar Jha.

Bhardwaj was detained in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh, on Friday, shortly after the CJP staged a protest outside the Parliament Street Police Station demanding his arrest in connection with the alleged assault.

He was initially sent to one day of police custody on Saturday and was subsequently remanded to judicial custody. On Monday, the concerned court granted another 14 days of judicial custody. He is now scheduled to be produced before the court on September 21.

The Delhi Police had also added provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and criminal intimidation to the FIR concerning the alleged assault on the father of the minor activist. A separate POCSO case has also been registered against Bhardwaj.

Bhardwaj came under scrutiny after a video podcast in which he allegedly spoke about assaulting the father of the CJP protester went viral. In the video, he also claimed to have political connections.

Case Title: Swatantra Bhardwaj Through His Father Randhir Kumar Jha v. State Govt. of NCT of Delhi & Ors.

Case Number: W.P.(CRL)-2750/2026