On Thursday, the Supreme Court issued a notice regarding the bail plea filed by Bibhav Kumar, an aide to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in connection with the alleged assault on Member of Parliament Swati Maliwal. [Bibhav Kumar v State of NCT of Delhi].
A Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta, and Ujjal Bhuyan noted that they would need time to review the chargesheet before making a decision.
During the hearing, the Court remarked, “You are right; we grant bail to murderers and killers. But here, look at the FIR. She is crying about her physical condition. Did you have authority? If this kind of person cannot influence witnesses, then who can? Was anyone there in the drawing room to speak against him? He doesn’t seem ashamed, we think.”
Kumar has been in jail since his arrest by the Delhi Police on May 18, following an incident that allegedly took place on May 13 at Kejriwal’s official residence. Maliwal, a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), claimed that Kumar assaulted her by hitting her in the chest, stomach, and pelvic area when she attempted to meet Kejriwal while he was out on interim bail in the Delhi Excise Policy case. She also alleged that she was threatened with severe consequences if she filed a complaint.
The AAP denied these allegations and subsequently removed Maliwal from the party’s ‘star campaigners’ list ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Some videos that surfaced on social media appeared to show Maliwal arguing with security personnel and leaving the Chief Minister’s residence.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Kumar, argued that the trial court should have granted bail, highlighting inconsistencies in Maliwal’s statements regarding the location of the alleged assault. Singhvi pointed out that the incident reportedly occurred on May 13, but the FIR was not filed until May 16. He also informed the Court that the chargesheet was filed on June 30, after the trial court had already denied bail to Kumar.
Justice Datta questioned Singhvi about Kumar’s role at the time of the incident, to which Singhvi responded that Kumar was the political secretary handling appointments. Justice Kant clarified that Kumar was a government employee.
Singhvi argued that the trial, rather than the bail hearing, was the appropriate forum to address these issues, emphasizing that the case did not involve murder. Justice Kant acknowledged that bail is often granted in murder cases but underscored the seriousness of the FIR and the distress Maliwal described.
The Court eventually issued a notice on the bail plea and scheduled the next hearing for August 7.
Kumar was arrested by the Delhi Police on May 18 in connection with the assault case and was initially remanded to police custody for five days before being sent to judicial custody on May 24. His bail plea was subsequently rejected twice by a trial court, first on May 27 and again on June 7. The Delhi High Court also denied him bail on July 12, citing concerns that Kumar, despite being only the personal secretary to the Chief Minister of Delhi, could wield considerable influence and potentially impact witnesses.
The denial of bail by the High Court has now been appealed to the Supreme Court through Advocate Karan Sharma.
