India’s Patiala House Court on Tuesday reportedly directed the Delhi Police to file its response to the bail application of Neelam Azad, the only woman accused in last month’s Parliament security breach, by January 10.

On December 13, a security breach took place in the lower house of India’s Parliament that coincided with the anniversary of a 2001 attack on the legislature. Two of the accused in the breach entered the Parliament on visitor’s passes, and during the initial hours of the session, they allegedly jumped off the public gallery, released a yellow gas and shouted slogans.

In her bail plea, Neelam Azad claimed that her rights under Article 22 of the Constitution of India, which provides safeguards to arrested and detained individuals, were violated. Azad stated that she was not produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of her arrest but rather 29 hours afterward. Her plea also mentioned that she was not given enough time to discuss her case with the appointed counsel from the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), a legal aid authority.

Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Akhand Pratap Singh opposed the bail application on the grounds that it was not maintainable. Further, the Special Police in Delhi moved an application to the court to seek permission to conduct a polygraph test, also known as a lie detector test, on all six accused in the security breach.

The court, presided over by Additional Sessions Judge Hardeep Kaur, instructed the police to file their response to Azad’s bail, and observed that the DLSA-appointed counsel was unavailable during Tuesday’s proceedings, adjourning the matter and to January 5.

The police have arrested all six accused—Neelam Azad, Manoranjan D, Sagar Sharma, Amol Dhanraj Shinde, Lalit Jha, and Mahesh Kumawat. According to police, the accused were from different states of India but knew each other, and due to their dissatisfaction over the 2020-2021 farmers’ protests, the ethnic violence taking place in Manipur, and surging unemployment, they hatched a plan to express their dissatisfaction over present governance.

Manoranjan D and Sagar Sharma received passes authorized by elected representative Prathap Simha of Mysore, allegedly jumped from the gallery and opened smoke canisters that triggered a panic in the house while their accomplices, Neelam Azad, and Amol Shinde, allegedly sprayed colored gas and shouted slogans outside the premises of the Parliament, as they were not able to procure visitor passes.

Sagar, Manoranjan, Amol, and Neelam were arrested immediately, and the court directed the four to seven-day police custody. The accused have been charged under the provisions of the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The fifth accused, Vishal Sharma, was detained by police on December 15 for allegedly giving shelter to the four who formulated the plan. Lalit Jha, the alleged mastermind of the case, was arrested by the Delhi police in the late evening of December 14.

The Delhi court on December 22 extended the police custody of Sagar, Manoranjan, Amol, and Neelam till January 5. Lalit Jha was given an initial seven-day police custody which was further extended by two weeks (until January 5) at the request of the Delhi Police Special Cell. All the accused are currently under police custody.