Delhi Police files supplementary chargesheet in Parliament breach case

The Special Cell of Delhi Police has filed a fourth supplementary chargesheet of around 14,000 pages under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused in the 2023 Parliament security breach case for offenses related to acts of terrorism, criminal conspiracy and provocations to cause riot.

The supplementary chargesheet filed in the Patiala Assembly Court was recorded during the hearings on Thursday, May 21. As per the court order, the investigation agency submitted Supplementary Charge Sheet-04 consisting of 13,967 pages against the accused.

The prosecution informed Additional Sessions Judge Amit Bansal that the additional charge sheet has been filed under Sections 186, 353, 153, 452, 201, 34 and 120B of the IPC and Sections 13, 16 and 18 of the UAPA.

During the hearing, accused Neelam Prajapati alias Neelam Azad and Mahesh Kumawat were granted bail while accused Manoranjan D., Amol Dhanraj alias Amol, Sagar Sharma and Lalit Jha were physically removed from judicial custody.

SI Amit Bhati appeared on behalf of Investigating Officer ACP Dharmender and submitted the supplementary charge sheet in the court. Copies of the indictment were sent in pencil to all defendants and their lawyers.

Lawyers for the accused Neelam Azad and Amol Dhanraj objected to filing the additional charge sheet at this stage, arguing before the court that filing such a comprehensive charge sheet when lengthy discussions on framing of the charges were already going on amounted to “gross abuse of the process of law”.

The defense also requested a hard copy of the supplementary charge sheet.

The prosecution assured the court that a hard copy set would be provided to defense counsel on the next hearing date. The court then requested that a printed copy of the supplementary indictment be given to the relevant defense attorney and listed the matter for review of documents and further proceedings on May 29 at 14:00.

The latest supplementary chargesheet includes allegations of obstruction of public officials in the discharge of their official duties, incitement of riots, destruction of evidence and offenses related to terrorist acts under the UAPA Anti-Terrorism Act.

The case concerns a major security breach inside and outside the Parliament on December 13, 2023, the 22nd anniversary of the Parliament terrorist attack in 2001.

During the incident, the accused, Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D., allegedly jumped from the visitors’ gallery into the Lok Sabha chamber while the proceedings were in progress and emitted yellow smoke from the canisters, causing panic within the House before they were neutralized by MPs and security personnel. Simultaneously, the accused Neelam Azad and Amol allegedly created colorful smoke and shouted slogans in front of the Parliament building.

The police had earlier alleged that Lalit Jha was the mastermind behind the conspiracy and that he escaped with the mobile phones of the other accused in a bid to destroy evidence after the incident.

The Special Cell is investigating the alleged larger conspiracy behind the breach, including the planning, coordination and communication between the accused.