NEW DELHI: In a complex turn of events, a Delhi court on Monday requested a response from Bibhav Kumar, a close aide to AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal, in connection with an assault case on MP Swati Maliwal.
The response was sought in light of a Delhi Police appeal challenging an earlier Magistrate Court directive, which mandated police to disclose a list of “unrelied documents” (documents that are not used by the prosecution to support their case) to the accused.
ASJ Abhishek Goyal of the Tis Hazari refused to stay the ongoing proceedings in the Magistrate Court, despite a request from Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Srivastav. Srivastav had urged the court to halt proceedings until the maintainability of the Delhi Police petition could be evaluated.
Judge Goyal clarified that no stay order would be issued at this stage, allowing the case to move forward pending further review.
Representing Kumar, advocates Rajat Bhardwaj and Karan Sharma countered the police’s plea, challenging its legitimacy and requesting time to file a formal response. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court scheduled the next hearing for December 3.
The Magistrate Court’s initial order on October 22 directed Delhi Police to provide the accused with a list of statements and materials collected during the investigation but not cited in the charge sheet. The directive came after two applications from Kumar, seeking access to these unrelied documents.
In a related development, Kumar, previously arrested in May but released on bail by the Supreme Court, has also filed a revision petition against the Magistrate Court’s cognisance of the case.
This petition, challenging the validity of the charge sheet, which was moved the previous week, is scheduled for a hearing on November 16, after an adjournment during the last court session due to proxy representation.
The case, which began with an incident on May 13 at the former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence, has seen significant scrutiny. Kumar’s charge sheet, filed by police on July 16, spans over 500 pages and includes the testimonies of 100 witnesses, with 50 named in the case. Key evidence reportedly includes Kumar’s mobile phone, SIM card and CCTV footage from the CM’s residence.