A court on Saturday granted bail to the man accused of molesting and dragging the head of the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Swati Maliwal. The accused should not be put through a hasty trial at this time, the court ruled.
DCW chief Swati Maliwal claimed that after getting her hand caught in a drunk driver’s car window at 3 a.m. outside the AIIMS on Thursday, she was assaulted and dragged for 10-15 metres. The Delhi Police detained the suspect, who was later placed in judicial custody and given the name Harish Chandra.
According to the court, all offences carry a sentence of less than seven years in prison and, with the exception of Section 354 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which prohibits assault or criminal force against women with the intent to violate their modesty.
‘I am of the view that no useful purpose will be served by keeping the accused behind bars. Accordingly, accused Harish Chander is admitted to bail subject to furnishing a bail bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount,’ Metropolitan Magistrate Sanghmitra said.
The accused was instructed not to commit a similar crime and to cooperate with investigators as and when necessary. The court also announced additional bail conditions. Other requirements included not tampering with the evidence, providing his address and phone number, and refraining from directly or indirectly contacting, meeting, or threatening the complainant, her family, or other witnesses.
‘No doubt that the nature of accusations is serious and is a relevant consideration at this stage of deciding the application of bail. However, it is not the only test or factor to be considered. It is the basic principle of criminal law that the accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty and it would be impermissible for the court, at this stage, while deciding the bail application, to subject the accused to a pre-mature trial,’ the court said.
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