SC to hear Somnath plea on Sept. 28

The Aam Aadmi Party MLA, who has been evading arrest, had approached the court late on Wednesday evening.

The Supreme Court agreed on Thursday to hear on September 28 former Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti’s plea for protection from arrest in a domestic violence and attempt-to-murder case.

In an urgent mention before a Bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu, Mr. Bharti’s lawyer, Pramod Swarup, did not press for a stay of arrest, but only confined to the plea for an early hearing.

The Aam Aadmi Party MLA, who has been evading arrest, had approached the court late on Wednesday evening.

The same day, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted asking why Mr. Bharti was not surrendering to the police.

The Delhi High Court had earlier dismissed his anticipatory bail plea, saying the allegations against him were backed by “documentary proof”. Terming the allegations against Mr. Bharti by his wife, Lipika Mitra, “very serious,” the High Court had said she was a victim of his “cruelty” and “brutal assaults.”