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Synopsis

The Delhi police has opposed before the Supreme Court a plea for bail made by Bibhav Kumar, a personal aide of Arvind Kejriwal, in a case of assault of Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, claiming larger conspiracy behind the attack on her.

The investigators have claimed that the Delhi Chief Minister and the accused were together at the official residence while two senior responsible persons of the party denied it.

The affidavit comes after the Supreme Court had allowed the Delhi police two weeks to respond to Kumar’s special leave petition.

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’. 

In the affidavit, the Delhi police has 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.

"Investigation has brought out the fact that the petitioner and the CM, Delhi, were together at the scene of the crime, i.e., the Delhi residence, immediately after the commission of the crime for a significant period of time. As such, the contrarian public stands taken by responsible public servants in the following days also needs to be examined in its correct perspective to decipher if there was a larger conspiracy behind the brutal assault on the complainant/victim at the hands of the petitioner," it said.

The police also pointed out it is a matter of record that selective footages from relevant CCTV cameras were leaked to the media before the relevant recording devices could be seized by them.

"This act also needs to be examined to find out whether the crime was conspiratorial or otherwise. Therefore, there is still an apprehension that petitioner herein may influence the witnesses or tamper with the evidences and thus fails to qualify the triple test as laid down by this court," it said.

The police said the present case is a very severe case and its severity would be apparent from the facts that the victim is a sitting Member of Parliament of a ruling party of Delhi, and she has been brutally beaten up at a very sensitive place, the Chief Minister's house. 

"The manner of brutal assault on the complainant, can be seen as mentioned in her complaint and corroborated by the MLC. The complainant victim has presided over DCW as Chairperson for sufficient time, and such an assault on her, and that too at the residence of the Chief Minister, casts aspersions on women's safety in society," it said.

The police has further highlighted that Kumar, who has a criminal antecedent on assaulting a public servant in Noida, is a very influential person and has the potential to influence the witnesses as well as the investigation can be inferred from his presence at the place of occurrence and the manner of his arrest. 

It also pointed out the petitioner has worked for more than 09 years in an authoritative position, and staff of the office continued to report to him despite claims that he is no longer an employee.

"This ongoing influence indicates that the petitioner has the potential to exert pressure, influence, and sway the witnesses associated with the Chief Minister's House/Camp Office. All the staff still reports to the petitioner," it said.

It has been claimed that even the Assistant Section officer in the breach report mentioned that the Kumar was called on his phone to inform about the arrival of Ms Swati Maliwal on the day of the incident. 

"Also, while the JE/PWD expressed his inability to enter inside the residence of the CM's residence and retrieve the DVR, the petitioner has unrestricted access to the CM's residence where the DVR was placed, as agreed to by the petitioner himself during sustained interrogation while in police custody. This clearly establishes that while the PWD has the responsibility of upkeep and maintenance of the CCTVs but not actual control over it," it said.

The police also highlighted the complainant has not been made a party to the present proceedings despite allegations of mala fide made against her.

"The incident has had a grave impact on the minds of general public and any adjudication in the said case will have cascading effect on the minds of general public therefore all care must be ensured that equal opportunity has been given even to the complainant especially in light of the fact that the petitioner has alleged malafide of being an influential person as against the complainant herein," it said.

The police submitted that the present case required the complainant to be heard as any liberty granted to the accused petitioner herein would directly affect her safety and wellbeing and also of her family members.

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