Swati Maliwal case: Kejriwal's aide Bibhav moves Delhi HC, seeks compensation for his 'illegal arrest'

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's close aide Bibhav Kumar on Wednesday moved the Delhi High Court, seeking direction to declare his arrest by the Delhi Police as illegal and in gross violation of the provisions of Section 41A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The plea also seeks an order that the petitioner be paid appropriate compensation for his illegal arrest, in deliberate and blatant violation of the provisions of law.

Bibhav Kumar's move comes a day after a court sent him to three days of police custody. Kumar has been accused of assaulting AAP Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. The court said Delhi Police could not be "deprived of its right" to recover the mobile phone that he was carrying at the time of the alleged assault at the chief minister's official residence on May 13.

"The presence of the accused in a room where NVRs (network video recorders) are installed is not denied by him or his lawyer. To the mind of this court, the reason for remaining there for a sufficient time is obviously a question which needs to be investigated for which custodial interrogation is necessary," Metropolitan Magistrate Gaurav Goyal said. 

NVR is a specialised computer that records security video surveillance footage in digital format to a hard drive. Noting Maliwal's specific allegation that Kumar had recorded the incident on his cell phone, the court said, "Investigating agency cannot be deprived of their rights to make the best endeavour to recover the mobile that the accused carried." 

The court allowed the city police's application for Kumar's custody noting its "bonafide requirements". "Application moved by the Investigating Officer (IO) is partly allowed and the accused is remanded to police custody for three days," the court said and asked the city police to produce Kumar before it on May 31. 

On Monday, Bibhav Kumar's bail plea was dismissed by a sessions court, which said there appeared no "pre-meditation" by Maliwal in lodging the FIR and that her allegations could not be "swiped away". Kumar was arrested on May 18. He was sent to police custody for five days the same day by a magisterial court, which observed that his anticipatory bail plea had become infructuous because of his arrest. He was sent to four-day judicial custody last Friday. 

The FIR against Kumar was registered on May 16 under various Indian Penal Code (IPC) provisions, including those related to criminal intimidation, assault or criminal force on a woman with the intent to disrobe, and attempt to commit culpable homicide.

(With inputs from PTI)