'FIR delay not significant since injuries apparent' | Delhi News - Times of India

Source: The Times of India

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court on Monday denied bail to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide, Bibhav Kumar, in the case of alleged assault on Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal by him at the CM's official residence stating that the allegations raised by her have to be "taken at face value and cannot be swiped away" and that "no ground for bail is made out".

According to a statement by Aam Aadmi Party, Bibhav will be approaching the high court against rejection of his bail plea.

Dismissing Kumar's bail application, the court of additional sessions judge Sushil Anuj Tyagi said: "Mere delay in registering the FIR would not have much impact on the case as the injuries are apparent in the MLC after four days. There seems to be no pre-meditation on the part of the victim as if it would have been so, then the FIR would have been registered on the same day."

Taking note of the submissions of special public prosecutor (SPP) Atul Srivastava and additional public prosecutor (APP) AB Asthana that Kumar had joined the investigation but was not cooperating, the court said: "The investigation is still at a nascent stage and the apprehension of influencing witnesses or tampering with evidence cannot be ruled out. Keeping in view the allegations made against the applicant, at this stage, no ground for bail is made out."

Maliwal, who was present in court, broke down during the hearing. She told the court if Kumar was released on bail, she and her family will be under threat. "Inke paas ek puri online trolls ki machinery hai. Ek bahut bade youtuber hain jo pehle AAP volunteer the. Unhone one-sided video banaya. Uske baad mujhe lagatar death threats aney lag gaye," she said.

She claimed she had been called a BJP agent by AAP politicians. "Puri party ke leaders press conferences karne lag gaye meri statement ke baad. Baar baar bola gaya ki mai BJP ki agent hun," she said.

Taking note of the fact that Maliwal was a sitting MP of AAP and had alleged that she had been brutally beaten up and her modesty outraged at the CM's house by Kumar, the court noted in the order: "The applicant was present at the Hon'ble CM's house even after his employment has been terminated. The investigating agency has also reported that the applicant has formatted his mobile phone and has not provided the password for opening his mobile phone. The CCTV footage collected from the Hon'ble CM's camp office is also stated to be blank at the relevant time and period."

The SPP told the court that Kumar was arrested to prevent him from tampering with crucial evidence. His presence at the CM's office even after termination of his employment shows that he is an influential person as the staff is still reporting to him, said the SSP. The prosecution added that Kumar had not explained in which capacity he was present at the CM's office.

The prosecution said Maliwal had been hit in the pelvic area and chest and was dragged after which she hit against the centre table.

The legal team representing Kumar, led by senior advocate N Hariharan, claimed that Maliwal had misbehaved with the security personnel and threatened them, insisting on meeting the CM at any cost. The team alleged that she had trespassed and entered the house in an unauthorized manner.

Hariharan also pointed out the 3-day delay in filing the complaint, arguing that she had been chief of Delhi Women's Commission and was well aware of her rights. "If her rights were violated, she should have made the complaint immediately," he said. He denied that Kumar had tampered with any evidence.

The defence told the court that the FIR "smacks of afterthought and pre-meditation" and that Kumar had been falsely implicated. They said there was no injury on the vital part of the body of the complainant and the nature of injuries were simple.

Rebutting the defence claims, Maliwal's counsels said she cannot be described as a trespasser and the magnitude of the injuries was such that they were present even after four days when the medical examination was done.

They said she had been brutally assaulted and her modesty was outraged and she, despite visiting the police station, was not able to lodge a complaint due to trauma.

They also claimed that she was receiving death and rape threats through vulgar messages on social media.