Swati Maliwal assault case: Supreme Court grants bail to Arvind Kejriwal’s close aide Bibhav Kumar

The Supreme Court on September 2 granted bail to Bibhav Kumar, a close associate of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in connection with the alleged assault on Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, news agency ANI reported.

The apex court noted that Kumar has been in custody for 100 days and that a chargesheet has already been filed in the case.

The Supreme Court bench directed that Bibhav Kumar not be reinstated as personal assistant or given any official assignment in the Chief Minister's office. The Supreme Court also said that the trial court should endeavour to finish the examination of important and vulnerable witnesses within three months and directed Bibhav Kumar not to enter the CM's residence until all witnesses have been examined.

Earlier on August 24, a session's court had extended the judicial custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar till September 13. Kumar has been accused of assaulting AAP Rajya Sabha MP Maliwal on May 13 at the chief minister's official residence.

The sessions court's Judicial Magistrate, Gaurav Goyal, extended his judicial custody after he was produced through videoconferencing.

A PTI report said that the Judicial Magistrate even sought a response from the probing officers regarding Kumar's plea for proper pagination of the chargesheet and documents provided to his advocate.

His counsel, Rajat Bhardwaj, argued that the documentation needed to be organized so the defence could present its case.

In the Delhi Police's 500-page final report, Kumar has been booked under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 341 (wrongful restraint), 354 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354 B (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to disrobe her), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 509 (insult caused to the modesty of a woman by the use of any words, gestures or object intending to the do the same).

With agency inputs.