AIADMK Two-leaf Symbol: Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court today (August 30) granted bail to alleged fraudster Sukesh Chandrasekhar in connection with the bribery case related to the AIADMK’s two-leaf symbol. Despite this bail, Chandrasekhar will remain in jail due to other pending cases against him.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne said in the order that since Section 479 recognises the paramount nature of liberty and is intended to protect accused from long periods of detention without the proceedings being brought to a close, any interpretation that would override the pre-eminence of bail over imprisonment must be avoided. In short, the accused is entitled to bail under Section 479(1) and the third proviso to Section 479 of the BNSS.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne granted him relief on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh.
The court noted that in the present facts, the delay in the proceedings cannot be attributed to the accused as he was entitled to exercise his right to challenge the order of charging. If the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court were to stay the proceedings, the accused cannot be penalised for the operation of the Explanation to Section 479 of the BNSS. The exercise of a remedy under the Act cannot be construed as a ground for penalising the accused and depriving him of the mandate of Section 479(1) and the third proviso of Section 479 of the BNSS.
Appearing for Sukesh, Advocate Anant Malik argued that the accused has been detained in the present proceedings for a period exceeding 7 years and 4 months after being arrested on 15.4.2017 whereas the offences with which he has been charged vide order dated 17.11.2018 are under Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code read with Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Section 170/201/419/420/468/471/474 of the Indian Penal Code and none of these offences provides for punishment for a term exceeding 7 years.
However, the Delhi Police counsel, while opposing the bail plea, argued that the gravity of the allegations relating to the alleged recovery of a cash amount of Rs 1.3 crore from the accused which, according to the allegations, was meant to be used to exert undue influence on the Election Commission of India to obtain a favourable election symbol for a faction of the AIADMK.
In the case, the Delhi Police filed an additional chargesheet that included names like AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran along with Chandrasekhar and several others – Mallikarjuna, Nathu Singh, Pulkit Kundra, B Kumar, Lalit Kumar, Jai Vikram Haran and Narendra Jain – in the bribery case. The case involves allegations that AIADMK leader TTV Dhinakaran attempted to bribe the Election Commission to obtain the party’s two-leaf symbol. The Delhi Police had arrested alleged middleman Sukesh Chandrasekhar from a Delhi hotel where he was found in possession of Rs 1.3 crore in cash. Additionally, the police seized a BMW and a Mercedes from him.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.