Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
What appears clear from the cases of Manish Sisodia & Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh that relief from the law are subjected to preferences of the judiciary and the police.
As on Monday the Delhi High Court refused interim bail to the former deputy CM of Delhi, whose wife is unwell but only allowed to visit.
Sisodia is in jail as the CBI and the ED have filed FIRs him under several sections of the IPC and has not been allowed any relief so far. Nor the probe agencies have established any irrefutable evidence against him that can be said as concrete.
According to Bar and Bench, Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said:
“This Court finds itself very hard to persuade to grant bail to Manish Sisodia. However, we direct that he be taken to the residence or the hospital where Mrs Sisodia is. He be taken to the hospital/residence between 10 am and 5 pm.” according to Bar and Bench, Justice Dinesh Kumar Sharma said.
That speaks volumes when compared with the case of Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, an accused in the wrestlers’ case charged with alleged sexual outrage, molestation and lurid persuasions.
Two FIRs have been lodged against Brij, obviously a powerful MP of the BJP and now looks wielding a lot of hold in the party and influence over the police wing.
When compared with each other (Sisodia & Brij Bhushan) it looks like a choice between cucumber and lamb, one to have the liberty and the other lacking it.
Closer home, and closer now, it isn’t the question of lamb and cucumbers, but of liberty and the lack of it. And perhaps, it is our law enforcement agencies, and not fate, that is deciding – (seemingly) at random – which is which.
So, what is obvious that, on the one hand, we have the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) president, who continues to remain out of jail even after one of the two FIRs against him – which, by the way, were filed only after the pleas reached the top court – booked him under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
And on the other, we have legislators awaiting the slightest flicker of liberty, even after months of incarceration. Why this preferential treatment on the two cases?
Nobody holds any grudge on the police that why it has not arrested Singh, but all that people would look for that, of law and it’s enforcers are any pressure to make grounds for liberty for Singh but why was Congress party’s P Chidambaram in custody for over a 100 days in 2019? Why has AAP’s Manish Sisodia been in jail since February this year? Why is NCP’s Nawab Malik incarcerated since February last year, despite his crumbling health?
As per media reports, Singh has been booked in two FIRs.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, New Delhi, Pranav Tayal, was quoted by a news agency as having said: “The first one pertains to allegations leveled by a minor victim which is registered under the POCSO Act along with relevant IPC sections concerning outraging of modesty.”
“The second FIR is registered for carrying out comprehensive investigations into the complaints tendered by other, adult complainants under relevant sections pertaining to outraging of modesty etc.”
Brij is under:
Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty
Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment
Stalking
Punishment for aggravated sexual assault (of a minor)
Regardless of the fact that, none of these offences make Singh liable for more than seven years imprisonment. The maximum punishment, that he can accrue if convicted, will be under Section 10 of POCSO – 5 to 7 years.
So, if a POCSO accused need not go to jail; a murder accused, as per Khanna’s example, can also lawfully evade incarceration; does a former deputy CM need to spend such a long time in custody?
Taking into view the “arrest carries a particular set of repercussions” and that “in cases involving accused who are not flight risks, arrest shouldn’t be made in a routine manner,” Advocate of Records ,Saxena said:
