Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh's regular bail application was rejected on Wednesday by a special court here. It noted in its order that the cash-for-vote episode was an attempt to “subvert the functioning of Parliament and mock the Republic of India.”
With the rejection of regular bail and interim bail coming to an end on Wednesday, Mr. Singh, who is now undergoing treatment at the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences, has come under judicial custody again.
The former Samajwadi Party leader was taken to the AIIMS on September 12 from the Tihar Central Jail and granted interim bail on September 13.
On Wednesday, the court left it to the AIIMS doctors to decide when Mr. Singh should be discharged from hospital and sent back to Tihar.
Far-reaching effect
Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal said in her order: “The incident, which is the basis of the present case, has far-reaching consequences that are beyond imagination and has a very deep impact on society at large, as an attempt to subvert the functioning of Parliament and mock the Republic of India has been made. The nature and gravity of the accusations against the accused/applicant cannot be lost sight of and for the foregoing reasons, I decline the grant of regular bail to accused Amar Singh.”
Referring to the role of Mr. Singh, Ms. Sehgal said, “From the material available on record, it appears prima facie that there are fingers which point that the accused/applicant [Mr. Singh] played a major role in the entire episode, which came to light on July 22, 2008, during the debate on the Motion of Confidence in the Lok Sabha when Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste, and Mahabir Singh Bhagora took out wads of currency notes of Rs.1 crore from the bags with them and placed the same on the table of the House.”
“Gross degeneration”
The judge said Mr. Singh was named in an incident that showed the “desperate depths to which certain political functionaries and parties stooped and the exposures represent a gross moral degeneration which disgrace the sacrosanct nature of parliamentary democracy.”
The judge also took note of the medical report from the AIIMS on September 26, which certified Mr. Singh's condition as being “stable, but requires monitoring.”
“I leave it to the good judgment of the specialists and super-specialists at the AIIMS to decide the period for which the accused/applicant is to be kept under observation. The interim bail comes to an end today [Wednesday]. The regular bail has been declined vide separate order. Let the bail bonds submitted at the time of grant of interim bail be cancelled,” Ms. Sehgal said.
The court also dismissed the bail plea of Sanjeev Saxena, Mr. Singh's former secretary. “From the material available on record, it prima facie appears that the accused [Mr. Saxena] had links with Mr. Singh and there is grave suspicion that he played the role of a facilitator,” the judge said.
The order on the bail plea of another accused, Sohail Hindustani, is slated to be passed on Thursday. The next charge sheet in the case is also expected to be filed on Thursday.