Defamation case: Kejriwal’s release ordered
27 May 2014 11:47 PM GMT
‘We are of the opinion that the provision of personal bounds and security in such cases is ‘illegal’. In our petition before the Delhi High Court we have demanded the court to declare that now on no accused person would be required to furnish such bonds,’ said senior lawyer and AAP leader Prashant Bhushan to Millennium Post. He further stressed that Kejriwal preferred jail to bail to highlight this illegal practise in the lower courts that was being used to harass the common man and also wastes the court’s precious time. ‘If Kejriwal had furnished the bail bond and security on the day he was asked, we could never have had an opportunity to highlight the issue in the High Court,’ he contended.
He added that the AAP is of the firm view that there is no provision in criminal law of seeking personal bonds and personal attendance of the accused in criminal cases where they can be represented by their lawyers and particularly when every detail about them is known. ‘Such a mechanical approach being followed by courts is leading to many hardships for the common man and it is precisely for such practices that millions of innocent people are suffering in jails due to their inability to furnish bail bonds,’ argued Bhushan with a hope that the final decision of the court would benefit the common man. Metropolitan Magistrate Gomati Manocha accepted the personal bond filed by Kejriwal’s counsel in compliance with the order passed by the Delhi high court and ordered his immediate release from Tihar Jail where he is currently lodged in a criminal defamation case filed by BJP’s Nitin Gadkari. On 21 May the magistrate has sent the AAP leader for two days judicial custody in Tihar Jail, after he refused to furnish bail bond of Rs 10000.
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