A Delhi court on Tuesday reserved its order for Wednesday on the bail application of AAP MLA and former Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti in the attempt to murder case lodged by his wife Lipika Mitra.
Additional Sessions Judge Anil Kumar reserved the order on conclusion of arguments by counsel for Mr. Bharti and the Special Public Prosecutor for the Delhi Police.
Terming the case a ‘BJP-sponsored litigation,’ Mr. Bharti’s counsel, Vijay Aggarwal, sought bail for his client, arguing that he was an MLA and have deep roots in society.
Mr. Aggarwal said that it was simple a case of on-and-off relationship but it was a made out a big one as political motives came into play. He alleged that it was a BJP-sponsored litigation.
Special Public Prosecutor, Shailendra Babbar, submitted that the accused had tried to misuse his liberty when he was not in custody. He also alleged that Mr. Bharti’s conduct in connection with the case had been doubtful.
There were also possibilities that Mr. Bharti might influence the witnesses as he was a very influential person. Several witnesses were not coming out to depose in the case due to his influence, the prosecutor argued.
The MLA tried to strangulate his wife and egged on his dog on her, the prosecutor said. But Mr. Aggarwal, alluding to the transcripts of recorded phone calls and messages exchanged between the couple, rebutted the charge that his client had incited his dog on her, stating that the dog was fed by her.
Mr. Bharti is currently in judicial custody. He had surrendered last week before the Dwarka police station on a Supreme Court direction.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had rejected his plea for anticipatory bail in the case. He had moved the High Court after rejection of his anticipatory bail plea and thereafter the issuance of NBW against him by two different district courts.
