Delhi High Court grants bail to AAP MLA Somnath Bharti in AIIMS assault case

Delhi High Court granted bail to AAP MLA Somnath Bharti in the AIIMS assault case. Bharti was taken into custody and sent to prison on Tuesday after the pronouncement of the verdict by a trial court in Delhi.

New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted bail to AAP MLA Somnath Bharti and also stayed the trial court order which convicted and sentenced him to two years in jail for assaulting All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) security staff and destroying public property.

Bharti was taken into custody and sent to prison on Tuesday after the pronouncement of the verdict by a trial court in Delhi.

Justice Suresh Kumar Kait on Wednesday stayed the judgment passed yesterday by a sessions court, which had upheld the conviction of the AAP MLA. The court also granted bail to Bharti who was taken into judicial custody immediately after the judgment and lodged in Tihar Jail.

Bharti through senior Lawyer N Hariharan sought to set aside the order/judgment and also acquittal from all charges.

The appeal states that "The judgment and impugned order of sentence of the Special Judge Court is contrary to law and facts of the case. The same is erroneous, illegal and thus are liable to be set aside in as much as, after going through the detailed evidence, the learned trial court wrongly passed the impugned orders."

The Session Court had upheld the conviction of Bharti under Sections 149 and 147 of IPC (Indian Penal Code), along with section 3 (mischief causing damage to public property) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

The AAP legislature was, however, acquitted under charges of 323 and 353 of IPC.

In his appeal filed through advocate Mohd Irshad, Bharti states that "Trial Court, as well as Court of Special Judge, failed to appreciate that the Petitioner had not committed any overt act nor used any criminal force nor assaulted anyone, there is no evidence for common object or formation of unlawful assembly for a common object or for rioting, thus no ingredients of an offense under Section 147 /149 IPC can be made out against Petitioner. Further, there is no incriminating evidence led by the prosecution to attribute any role / overt act to fulfill the ingredients of an offense under Section 3(1) of The Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.

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Magistrate Court earlier on January 23 this year had sentenced Bharti to two years in jail.

According to the prosecution, on September 9, 2016, AIIMS Chief Security officer RS Rawat lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police accusing MLA Somnath Bharti and his 300 supporters of misbehaving with security guards of AIIMS.

Rawat also told the police that Bharti gave permission to unauthorised persons with JCB machines to get access inside AIIMS.

The chief security officer accused AAP MLA and other of trying to encroach government land and disrupting peace in the hospital.

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(ANI)