'Tortured, Forced To Implicate Opposition': Parliament Breach Accused Tell Court

A Delhi court extended the judicial custody of six of the accused in the Parliament security breach case to 1 March.

The Delhi court has extended the judicial custody of the six accused, charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), to 1 March.

(Photo: The Quint)

Five of the six accused in the Parliament security breach case moved an application in Delhi's Patiala House Court on Wednesday, 31 January, alleging that they were given "electric shocks" and forced to "sign 70 odd blank pages" to confess to their alleged crimes.

In their application moved in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur, the accused – Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Lalit Jha, Amol Shinde, and Mahesh Kumawat – said that during the polygraph, narco, and brain mapping tests, officials allegedly pressured them to name a political party or leader in connection with the case.

"Accused persons were tortured/given electric shocks to sign and confess the commission of crime under UAPA and their association with national political parties... two accused persons were forced to write on the paper about their association with the political party/leader of the opposition political party," stated the application accessed by The Quint.

The Delhi court has extended the judicial custody of the six accused, charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), to 1 March.

'Forced To Provide Passwords': Accused Allege in Application

The five accused alleged that they were asked about their current and old mobile phone numbers and were made to visit the offices of their respective telecom service providers for issuance of SIM cards of old mobile numbers and current SIM card numbers for "reasons best known to the prosecution."

"During this illegal drill, accused persons gave their biometrics / signed for issuance of sim cards and they were also forced to provide all their online social media account passwords, email account passwords and phone passwords [sic]."

The application, accessed by The Quint, alleges

Meanwhile, directing the Delhi Police to submit its response to the allegations, the Patiala House Court scheduled the next hearing on the application on 17 February, Bar & Bench reported.

What is the Case?

In a massive security breach, at least four people set off coloured smoke canisters and chanted slogans inside the Lok Sabha and the Parliament premises on 13 December 2023.

While two of them – Sharma and Manoranjan – jumped into the Lok Sabha from the visitors' gallery and set off coloured smoke canisters inside the House, two others – Amol Shinde and Neelam – raised slogans and set off smoke canisters outside the House on the Parliament premises.

Two others – Lalit Jha and Mahesh Kumawat – were also arrested by the Delhi Police Special Cell in December.

Sources had earlier told The Quint that the accused were allegedly protesting against several issues including unemployment, inflation, and the Manipur violence.

Invoking the UAPA, the police maintained that the breach was a "well-planned conspiracy."