Delhi High Court denies immediate arrest protection for YouTuber Ajeet Bharti

The Delhi High Court rejected a request by YouTuber Ajeet Bharti for immediate arrest protection in a case registered under the SC/ST Act. The complaint, lodged by the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) in Delhi, alleges that Bharti used caste-related slurs and threatened language against party leader Chandrashekhar Azad and Dalit icon B. R. Ambedkar. A lower court had earlier refused anticipatory bail, observing that Bharti's remarks invoked notions of caste purity and superiority, thereby attracting Section 3(1)(r) of the Act.

Justice Saurabh Banerjee, hearing the matter, denied interim protection, citing the lack of a full FIR copy and postponed the next hearing to Wednesday. The court also considered adjourning a plea challenging the lower court’s September 7 order. The decision underscores the strict application of the SC/ST Act’s provisions on hate speech.