The former Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, was on Friday sent back to the Tihar jail for 14 days by a Delhi court as he staunchly refused to furnish a bail bond in the defamation case initiated by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Nitin Gadkari.
Metropolitan Magistrate Gomati Manocha extended Mr. Kejriwal’s judicial custody till June 6 as he refused to furnish a bail bond despite being told about the legal provisions by the court.
The court directed Mr. Gadkari to appear in court on June 6. “For two days Mr. Gadkari has not appeared in the court. At the next hearing, I want him here. I am calling for his presence at the next hearing,” the court told his counsel Pinky Anand and Ajay Digpaul.
The magistrate explained the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code governing bail bond and release on bail, while Mr. Kejriwal and his counsel, former Union Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, took the stand that he should be released on oral undertaking.
“Main ye samajhna chahta hoon ki mera kasoor kya hai. (I want to know what my crime is). Why didn’t the court accept my under-taking?” Mr. Kejriwal said.
“I understand the legal illiteracy in this country,” the court said. “People, even the educated, don’t understand the difference between personal bond and bail bond. You were not being asked to deposit Rs.10,000 straightaway. You were asked to sign a bond,” the court said. “You were called as an accused to face trial to decide whether what you said against Nitin Gadkari was defamatory or not. So you cannot say that since I am not guilty, I will not furnish any bail bond. A bond is a contract of appearance,” the court said.
