Court reserves order on Maruti workers’ bail plea

A local court here on Wednesday reserved its order on a bail plea of Maruti workers, who are in jail in connection with violence at the company’s plant in 2012. The court fixed March 17 for the order.

A total of 148 workers were arrested in connection with violence at the company’s plant on July 18, 2012, in which a senior manager was killed and several executives injured. Two accused — Sunil Kumar and Kanwaljeet Singh — were allowed regular bail by the Supreme Court this past month. Sixty-five more workers have been declared proclaimed offenders in the case.

Moving the bail plea of 77 accused in the case before the court of Additional Session Judge S.K. Khanduja, advocate Vrinda Grover argued that the case was on the same footing as that of the two accused who were recently granted bail by the apex court. She added that the eye-witnesses had failed to identify the accused. There was no evidence against the accused and they should be granted bail, Ms. Grover contended.

Quoting from the Supreme Court order pertaining to bail plea of Sanjay Chandra in 2G case, Ms. Grover said: “The courts owe more than verbal respect to the principle that punishment begins after conviction, and that every man is deemed to be innocent until duly tried and found guilty.”

Opposing the bail plea, prosecution counsel Anurag Hooda said the court should take into account the gravity of charges against the accused who, if released, may not appear before the court and prolong the case.

He objected to the bail by saying iron door beams were recovered from each one of the accused. To this, Ms. Grover, quoting a Supreme Court order, saying that mere recovery cannot be clinching evidence to hold the accused guilty.