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Opposing the bail plea, Delhi police had contended that the manner in which the AAP leaders and workers came in support of the petitioner against one of their own members of Parliament shows that there is a larger conspiracy behind the attack
The Supreme Court has today granted bail to Bibhav Kumar, a personal aide of Arvind Kejriwal, in a case of assault of Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan has granted bail to Kumar despite strong objections from the Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for Delhi Police.
The bench has however, imposed some extra conditions on the Kumar, namely,
1. Kumar shall not be restored to the position of PS to CM of Delhi or any other position in his office. 2. Kumar shall not enter the residence of CM or his office. 3. Prosecution is directed firstly to produce private witnesses, who are to be examined first. 4. Petitioner or AAP shall not make any comments of this case.
Recently, Delhi police had opposed before the Supreme Court a plea for bail made by Kumar, claiming larger conspiracy behind the attack on Maliwal.
The affidavit comes after the Supreme Court had allowed the Delhi police two weeks to respond to Kumar’s special leave petition.
A three-judge bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan last week had come down heavily on Kumar and asked if this was the way to behave at the Chief Minister's residence. "Is this the way, is this a private residence...it is the CHIEF MINISTERS' RESIDENCE..You want to say as if a goon entered the residence and you wanted to protect...you have assaulted a young woman..", the bench had said.
Kumar had filed the instant SLP against the Delhi High Court's order dated July 12, which challenged the Delhi High Court's dismissal of his bail plea, noting the possibility of Bibhav influencing the witness or tampering with evidence cannot be ruled out.
Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta of the High Court held in the impugned order, ‘It cannot be ruled out that the witness may be influenced or evidence can be tempered. Therefore, the bail application is disposed of’.
An FIR was registered against Bibhav based on Swati Maliwal's written complaint alleging that Kumar assaulted her when she went to meet Kejriwal at his residence on May 13.
She further argued that Kumar slapped her at least 7-8 times while she screamed. She pushed him away to protect herself, but he then pounced on her, brutally dragged her, and deliberately pulled her shirt up.
Maliwal was a Rajya Sabha MP from the Aam Aadmi Party, who recently claimed that she is an ‘MP without a political party’.
Case Title: Bibhav Kumar vs. State of NCT of Delhi
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