Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Two Accused In Parliament Security Breach Case

Mahesh Kumawat and Neelam ‘Azad’, two of the five accused in the Parliament smoke canister case from 2023 have been granted bail by the Delhi High Court. On Wednesday morning, the oral order securing their release was pronounced by the court.

Later this evening, the written order will be released, to ensure that the two accused are left on bail by the morning of July 3, 2025.

Neelam, a Haryana resident, activist and unemployed post-graduate, and Mahesh, a resident of Rajasthan’s Kuchaman city, have been told not to speak to the media about their case. They are set to be released on sureties of Rs 50,000 each. They would also not be able to post details of their case on social media. 

A bench consisting of Justice Subramonium Prasad and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar pronounced the order in court during a bail hearing on Wednesday.

A lower court had previously denied them bail, largely due to the serious nature of the charges against them. They have been charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, a strict law meant to thwart terrorist organisations and their activities.

Neelam ‘Azad’ and another accused, Amol, were arrested along with two others—Manoranjan D from Karnataka and Sagar Sharma—outside Parliament on 13 December 2023. Kumawat was arrested a few days later. All were lodged in Tihar Jail. 

Manoranjan and Sagar had released smoke canisters inside Parliament on that day, which was the twenty-third anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack, in which armed terrorists had killed six police personnel and three parliamentary personnel.

Neelam had raised slogans outside Parliament, while Kumawat was arrested for his alleged role in aiding the others involved in the case. The case came to be known as the 'Parliament security breach' case.