NEW DELHI: AAP MLA Sharad Chauhan, who was arrested in connection with a case of a party woman worker's alleged suicide, was today granted bail by a Delhi court which said no useful purpose would be served by keeping him in further custody.
Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan granted the relief to the Narela MLA after noting that his name was not stated by the deceased in her last statement.
"As per the probe agency, before the arrest of applicant (Chauhan), he has been thoroughly interrogated. No useful purpose will be served by keeping the applicant in further custody.
"In totality of facts and circumstances of the case, the applicant is entitled to bail and as such, it is ordered that the applicant is admitted to bail on furnishing of personal bond and surety bond in sum of Rs 30,000," the judge said.
In its order, the court noted that "in her statement (on July 19), deceased named accused Ramesh Bhardwaj, Amit Bhardwaj and Rajni Kant as the persons responsible for her death as they made her life hell by defaming her".
"It is noteworthy that the name of applicant is nowhere stated by the deceased in her last statement," it said.
Seeking bail for Chauhan, his lawyer Pradeep Rana argued that the politician was falsely implicated in the case and his name did not appear in the dying declaration made by the deceased.
The police, however, opposed Chauhan's plea contending that the MLA had played a "big role" in shielding his associates in a separate case of molestation which forced the victim to live under constant threat.
Chauhan was earlier denied bail by a magisterial court which had noted that the probe was at a nascent stage.
Chauhan, along with others, was arrested on July 30 and he is the 12th AAP MLA to be arrested.
His co-accused, including Ramesh Bhardwaj, Rajni and Delhi Police ASI Mukhtiyar Singh, are currently in judicial custody.
Bhardwaj was arrested by a police team from Sonipat on July 26. He was questioned for several hours in connection with the suicide of the woman, along with Chauhan.
The woman had consumed a poisonous substance at her home in north-west Delhi's Narela area and died during treatment at LNJP Hospital on July 19.
She had filed a complaint against Bhardwaj for allegedly touching her inappropriately and a case of molestation was registered in June. The accused was arrested and later released on bail.
On July 20, Delhi Police had registered a case of abetment to suicide and handed over the entire matter to a special investigation team.
The family members of the woman had claimed that she had gone into depression after her alleged molester Bhardwaj, an AAP colleague, was released on bail.
She had also alleged that the accused was being protected by the local AAP MLA.
The woman in a video recording had levelled serious allegations against Bhardwaj, accusing him of pressuring her to "compromise" if she wanted to rise in the party. He had allegedly claimed himself to be "close" to the local party MLA.