HC grants bail to man accused in Delhi doctor's suicide case

Harish Kumar who was arrested in connection with the suicide of a 52-years-old doctor in the national capital has been granted bail by the Delhi High Court.

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has granted bail to Harish Kumar, who was arrested in connection with the suicide of a doctor in the national capital, in which Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Prakash Jarwal is also an accused.

A single-judge bench of Justice Vibhu Bakhru, while granting bail to Harish Kumar on Friday, clarified if it is found at any stage that the petitioner has attempted to contact or influence any of the witnesses, either directly or indirectly, the bail shall be cancelled.

"Considering that the charge sheet has been filed and the investigation is complete, this court considers it apposite to allow the present petition. The petitioner shall be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond of Rs 10,000 with one surety of the like amount," the bench said.

Jarwal and other accused are facing charges of the abetment of suicide of a 52-year-old doctor. Earlier, Jarwal was granted bail in the case in June month this year.

According to the FIR, one Dr Rajinder Singh had committed suicide on the rooftop of his residence. Allegedly, he had hung himself with a rope attached to the railing of the roof, in the early hours of the morning on March 18, 2020. An alleged suicide note was recovered. The alleged suicide note indicated that the deceased was distressed as his water tankers, which were plying on a contract basis with Delhi Jal Board (DJB), had been discontinued.

The alleged suicide note indicates that certain illegal demands had been made which the deceased could not meet. According to the prosecution, MLA Prakash Jarwal was running an extortion racket in collusion with the officers of the DJB and extorting money from various service providers and that the deceased was one of them.

Advocate Ravi Drall, representing accused Harish Kumar, submitted that Kumar cannot be held responsible for the termination of the contract between the Delhi Jal Board and the deceased.

He submitted that the deceased had been blacklisted some years ago and he was plying the said tankers in the name of his wife. Drall also submitted that the petitioner cannot be held responsible for withholding payments provided by DJB to the deceased, which is also cited as one of the principal reasons that compelled the deceased to commit suicide.

The deceased doctor's son, in his complaint to the police, had said that his father supplied water tankers to the Delhi Jan Board (DJB) and was upset because of monetary loss as the accused MLA with others had demanded money from the victim failing which his payment was stopped. The AAP MLA from Deoli, however, has denied the charges.

(ANI)