‘My Lord, my arrest is illegal’, High Court’s solid reply to Bibhav’s plea

New Delhi. Bibhav Kumar, a close aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is lodged in Tihar Jail in the Delhi liquor scam case, has received a major setback from the Delhi High Court. Bibhav Kumar had challenged his arrest by filing a petition in the High Court. The High Court gave a blunt reply to the argument of Bibhav Kumar, who is in jail in the Swati Maliwal assault case. The court said that the arrest of Bibhav Kumar was necessary and the police fully followed the law while carrying out this process. Along with this, the court said that Bibhav Kumar’s petition has no merit. Bibhav Kumar had allegedly assaulted senior Aam Aadmi Party leader and Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal. This incident of assault took place at the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The Delhi High Court has said that the arrest of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s close aide Bibhav Kumar in the case related to the alleged attack on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Swati Maliwal was necessary and the police strictly followed the law while doing so. Dismissing Bibhav Kumar’s petition, the court has said in its decision that his petition has no merit. Bibhav Kumar’s petition claimed that his arrest was illegal. Bibhav Kumar, who is currently in judicial custody, had allegedly attacked Maliwal at Kejriwal’s official residence on May 13. He was arrested by Delhi Police on May 18.

Swati Maliwal case: Kejriwal’s PA Bibhav Kumar will remain in jail, Delhi High Court gives a setback

Bibhav Kumar had made serious allegations against the police
Bibhav Kumar in his petition had requested for direction to declare the arrest illegal and against the law as a gross violation of the provisions of Section 41A (notice to appear before police officer) of CrPC. In the verdict pronounced on Saturday, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said that after the arrest, the lower court had heard the side of Kumar as well as the government before granting permission for five days of police custody. The judge also said that the law gives discretion to the investigating officer not to arrest a person during the investigation, but in the present circumstances, there are sufficient grounds to arrest the accused petitioner without notice.

What did the High Court say?
The High Court said that Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to liberty to a person and the law is designed to ensure that such liberty is not violated except through due process of law. The court said, ‘The facts clearly establish that the arrest was necessary in the circumstances stated and it was done in strict compliance with the principles, guidelines of Section 41 of the CrPC, 1973…therefore the present petition has no merit, which is dismissed.’ The court said that according to the police, the CCTV footage was found blank and Kumar did not cooperate during interrogation.

Tags: CM Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi High Court, Delhi News, Swati Maliwal