SC Grants Bail to Bibhav Kumar: The Supreme Court granted bail to Bibhav Kumar on Monday, a close associate of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in connection with the alleged assault on Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. The court imposed several conditions on Kumar’s bail. He is restrained from resuming his role as the Chief Minister’s personal secretary and is prohibited from entering the Chief Minister’s residence until all key witnesses are examined in the case.

The Supreme Court has also barred Kumar from speaking publicly about the case until the vulnerable witnesses are examined. The court has instructed the trial court to complete this process within a preferred time frame of three weeks and has prohibited Kumar from holding any official position during this period.

Swati Maliwal assault case: Background of the case

The Delhi Police arrested Kumar from Kejriwal’s residence on May 18 following a complaint filed by Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. In her First Information Report (FIR), Maliwal accused Kumar of slapping her 7-8 times without provocation, attacking her physically and inappropriately touching her during a visit to meet the Chief Minister on May 13.

In his defence, Kumar sent an email complaint to the Delhi Police on May 17, alleging that Maliwal had forcibly and unauthorisedly entered the Chief Minister’s residence, abused him and threatened to falsely implicate him in criminal cases. Kumar also claimed that the MP threatened to frame him and have him jailed when he stopped her from entering the main building of the CM’s residence.

Swati Maliwal assault case: Evidence and proceedings

As part of the investigation, the Delhi Police seized Kumar’s mobile phone, SIM card and DVR/NVR footage from CCTV cameras installed at the Chief Minister’s residence. On July 30, the court acknowledged the chargesheet filed against Kumar by the Delhi Police on July 16, which spans 500 pages. The police have examined 100 people, with 50 being designated as witnesses.

On August 24, a Delhi court extended Kumar’s judicial custody until September 13.

With inputs from PTI