2023 Parliament security breach on Dec 13 can't be coincidence: Delhi HC

New Delhi, Jan 15 (PTI) The Delhi High Court on Thursday said the 2023 Parliament security breach happening on December 13, the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, could not be a coincidence.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Sudha Jain made the remark while dealing with the bail pleas of three accused -- Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma and Lalit Jha -- in the security breach case.

Even as the counsel for the accused submitted that there was no connection between the two incidents by them as the accused in the present case were merely protesting unemployment, the bench retorted, "It can't be a coincidence... 13 December can't be a coincidence".

The senior lawyer appearing for the accused said that while the "way of protest" might not have been right, the accused people ought not be kept in jail indefinitely.

"They had anger, but I totally agree that it was not the way to protest. If we look at history, even the English people did not keep people behind bars for an indefinite period," the counsel said.

He emphasised that the charges were yet to be framed and the accused were educated youth with no prior involvement in a criminal case.

The counsel for the police said the prosecution had concluded its arguments on the charge before the trial court.

The court listed the matter for further hearing in February and asked the parties to go through the Supreme Court's judgement in the case of Gulfisha Fatima, who was granted bail recently in a 2020 Delhi riots case under UAPA.

The three accused had moved the high court against the dismissal of their bail pleas by the trial court in December 2024.

Accused Neelam Azad and Mahesh Kumawat were granted bail by the high court in July 2025.

In a major security breach on the anniversary of the 2001 Parliament terror attack, accused Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D allegedly jumped into the Lok Sabha chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour, released yellow gas from canisters and sloganeered before they were overpowered by some MPs.

Around the same time, two other accused -- Amol Shinde and Azad -- allegedly sprayed coloured gas from canisters while shouting "tanashahi nahi chalegi (dictatorship won't work)" outside the Parliament premises.

The Delhi Police had registered the FIR on the next day of the incident, i.e. December 14, 2023, under sections of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). PTI ADS RHL