Swati Maliwal 'Assault' Case: Kejriwal's Aide Bibhav Kumar Arrested; Bail Plea Not Applicable

The anticipatory bail plea of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar has become infructuous as he has been arrested, a Delhi court observed on Saturday. Kumar is accused of assaulting Maliwal on May 13 at the residence of Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party.

He was arrested on Saturday, two days after an FIR was registered against him at the Civil Lines police station. Kumar has also been taken to Aruna Asaf Ali Government Hospital for a medical test.

The development comes two days after Delhi Police registered a case against Kumar following a complaint by Maliwal.  According to the FIR, Maliwal claimed: "He (Bibhav Kumar) slapped me 7-8 times at least while I continued screaming. I pushed him away to protect myself. At that time he pounced on me, brutally dragged me and deliberately pulled my shirt up." 

What did the court say?

Additional Sessions Judge Sushil Anuj Tyagi noted that Additional Public Prosecutor Atul Kumar Srivastava appeared through video conferencing around 4.45 pm and informed the court that Kumar has already been arrested in the case.

"On court query, the additional public prosecutor for the state submitted that the applicant was arrested at about 4:15 pm," the judge said.

The judge noted Srivastava's submissions that Kumar's wife had been duly informed about his arrest

"Since, the applicant (Kumar) has already been arrested, the present application is disposed of being infructuous," the court said.

"Copy of this order be also sent to the investigating officer or station house officer concerned for information and necessary action," it said.

Earlier in the day, the court had reserved its order on the plea filed before it on Saturday.

Maliwal's assault allegation

Maliwal claimed that the brutal assault by Bibhav did not stop even after she mentioned that she was on her periods.

"Bibhav Kumar did not relent and attacked me by kicking me repeatedly in my chest, stomach and pelvic area with his legs. I was in extreme pain and kept telling him to stop," Maliwal said.

Meanwhile, Bibhav Kumar has filed a counter-complaint with the Civil Lines police station, alleging that Maliwal had "forcefully and unauthorisedly" entered the Chief Minister's residence.

In his complaint, Kumar claims that when Maliwal “started walking from the drawing room towards the inner part of the CM residence”, he “apprehended that her motives were suspect and she intended to harm the CM.”

“So the complainant strongly objected to her trying to gain forceful entry into the inner parts of the residence and stood in front of her to prevent the same. This infuriated Maliwal, who pushed the complainant,” he claimed, adding that she threatened to frame him in a false case. “Since it is election time, all of this may have been done at the behest of the BJP, and it is therefore requested that her call records, chats and interactions with BJP leaders should also be investigated,” he wrote.

Aam Aadmi Party On Swati Maliwal Case

Initially, the AAP acknowledged that Kejriwal's aide had "misbehaved" and "acted indecently" with Maliwal. However, three days later, the party made a U-turn, claiming that Maliwal was a "pawn" in a conspiracy hatched by the BJP to take down Kejriwal.

At a press conference, senior AAP leader Atishi said, “Ever since Kejriwal has come out on bail, the BJP has been stumped. As a result, they conspired and sent Swati Maliwal to Kejriwal’s residence on Monday morning. The conspiracy was meant to level false allegations on Kejriwal. Swati Maliwal was the face of this conspiracy, she was a pawn in this conspiracy.”

Atishi also claimed that Maliwal had reached Kejriwal's house "unannounced, without an appointment, on May 13. Her intention was to level allegations against the CM. But he was unavailable, and he was saved as a result."