Metropolitan Magistrate (Mahila Court) Sanghmitra granted bail to Harish Chandra saying that while there was no doubt this was a serious case, and that is a relevant consideration while deciding bail, “it is not the only test or factor to be considered”.
The court said that it would be impermissible while deciding the bail to “subject the accused to a mini trial”. It said that in the current case, all offences are punishable with imprisonment for a term less than seven years. It also said that the apprehension of the prosecution that the accused would threaten Maliwal and other witnesses in this case was “mere ipse dixit (an assertion made but not proved).”
Advocate S K Dhaka, who appeared for the accused, told the court that a video has emerged that showed that Maliwal was with a cameraman and approached the accused. He made this argument to claim that “it was staged act performed by the complainant to show her power”.
“My client is a family man. He has a daughter of his own. He saw the complainant and thought she was in trouble and offered her a lift. She tried to put her hand down his car window and snatch his keys following which he fled thinking he would be looted. This was a staged act, the FIR has been engineered by the complainant,” Dhaka told the court.
Additional Public Prosecutor Dishank Dhawan opposed his bail by stating that this was a “horrendous incident” in which the accused was repeatedly making lewd gestures. He prayed for the bail to be cancelled as offering him relief would not send the right message to society.
“If the accused can do this to the DCW chief, and that person is given bail, what message will be sent to society? Please look at the impact this order will have on society,” Dhawan told the court.
He also told the court that the MLC of the accused showed that he was drunk at the time of the incident.
The judge also asked Dhaka what was the accused doing at 3 am near AIIMS.
Dhaka told the court that he was returning from a relative’s function. “You (Maliwal) are playing political games. You are trapping a family man. He has no criminal history. People are turning up at my home. This incident is impacting my family.”
