New Delhi : AAP MLA Somnath Bharti, who was arrested in a case of domestic violence and attempt to murder lodged by his wife, was today granted bail by a Delhi Court which ruled out apprehensions that he would flee from its jurisdiction. However, the court imposed several conditions on him including that he would not leave Delhi without its prior permission, not tamper with evidence and join the probe as and when required.
The court said Bharti was no longer required for investigation purposes and observed that since he was a member of Delhi Legislative Assembly, there was no ground to agree with the apprehensions of the police that he may flee abroad.
“The applicant is a member of Legislative Assembly of Delhi. I find no ground to agree with the apprehension of the state/police that he may flee abroad. Despite this, the apprehension of likelihood of applicant fleeing from the jurisdiction of the court or tampering with prosecution evidence can be taken care of by imposing necessary condition and the breach whereof may expose the applicant to the consequent risk of cancellation of bail.
“In the result, this application is allowed. Applicant Somnath Bharti is admitted to bail subject to his furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs one lakh with one surety of the like amount,” Additional Sessions Judge Anil Kumar said.
The court also directed Bharti to report his presence once a week in the office of DCP (South West) till the time charge sheet in the case was filed. It also said Bharti would not do any act which would create reasonable grounds to presume that he was trying to place hurdles in fair investigation or trial of the case. Bharti had moved the bail plea after the Supreme Court had disposed of his anticipatory bail plea and asked him to approach the trial court for regular bail.
Bharti’s counsel Vijay Aggarwal had yesterday submitted some transcripts of recorded phone calls and SMSs exchanged between Bharti and his wife to claim that the claims of dog bite and wrist slit were false. The AAP MLA was arrested in the wee hours on September 29 after the apex court ordered him to surrender.
Bharti had on September 23 moved the apex court seeking protection from arrest in the case and a direction to restrain the police from arresting him till his plea challenging the High Court order was decided. The Supreme Court, however, had on October 1 denied interim bail to AAP MLA and sought the presence of his wife before it to explore the possibility of mediation. On September 22, the Delhi High Court had rejected Bharti’s plea for anticipatory bail, observing that the allegations against him were backed by ‘documentary proof’. PTI
