New Delhi, Sep 11 (IANS): A Delhi court on Wednesday turned down the bail plea of Neelam Azad, one of the six accused in the December 13, 2023 Parliament security breach case.

Declining to release Azad on regular bail, the Patiala House Court said that there were sufficient reasonable grounds for believing that the allegations made against the accused were prima facie true.

Azad’s previous bail plea met a similar fate in January this year.

In a major security breach on the 22nd anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attacks on December 13, 2023, two accused jumped onto the floor of the Lok Sabha, released yellow gas, and raised slogans before being overpowered by the MPs, while Azad and Amol Shinde sprayed coloured gas from canisters shouting slogans outside Parliament premises.

The Delhi Police registered a case under Sections 186, 353, 452, 153, 34, and 120B of the IPC and 13, 16, 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against the accused, at the Parliament Street Police Station on a complaint made by the security officer in the Lok Sabha.

Delhi Police’s Special Cell had already filed its first charge sheet spanning over 900 pages against all six accused -- Azad, Shinde, Manoranjan D., Sagar Sharma, Lalit Jha, and Mahesh Kumawat.

They are currently in judicial custody. Jha is believed to be the mastermind of the entire plan and had reportedly fled with the mobile phones of the four other accused persons. Kumawat was also linked to the accused. Delhi Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena has also accorded prosecution sanction against the six accused under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The Delhi Police had requested their prosecution under Sections 16 (terrorism) and 18 (conspiracy for terrorism) of UAPA from the competent authority, i.e. the L-G, who, having found sufficient material on record, granted sanction.