Court grants bail to AAP leader Somnath Bharti

Metropolitan Magistrate Anuj Aggarwal allowed the bail plea of Bharti while rejecting an application moved by Delhi Police seeking 14-day judicial remand for him. Bharti was produced before the court following his arrest on Thursday afternoon. “Considering facts and circumstances and nature of the offence and the fact that he is an MLA and a member of bar and therefore, chances of his fleeing from justice are remote, I am not inclined to send him to judicial custody and he deserves to be granted bail,” the magistrate said while asking him to join the probe and not influence witnesses. In his order, he said “on perusal of record, in my view Section 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty) of the IPC is not attracted at present as the security guards who were allegedly assaulted, do not fall within the ambit of public servant.” 

The court said of the provisions for which Bharti was booked, only two were non-bailable offences, section 353 of IPC and section 3 (mischief causing damage to public property) of the Prevention of Damage To Public Property Act. Meanwhile, a Delhi court on Thursday granted bail to AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan in a sexual harassment case filed by his sister-in-law. 

The Okhla representative, who was out on bail in another case of molestation and criminal intimidation, had gone to the Jamia Nagar Police station on September 18 and had asked the police to arrest him but they had refused. Khan was yesterday arrested and sent to a day’s judicial custody. The MLA was arrested by police for the second time in three months on separate complaints of women.