Jitender Singh Tomar challenges arrest, moves Sessions Court

Says police violated laws while arresting him yesterday

Former Delhi law minister Jitender Singh Tomar today approached a Sessions Court here challenging his arrest in the alleged fake degree case.

In an application filed before the sessions court, Tomar alleged that police had arrested him yesterday in violation of prescribed procedure under the law.

Additional Sessions Judge Sanjeev Jain refused to give an urgent hearing to Tomar's plea and said that the matter will be heard tomorrow.

49-year-old Tomar was arrested yesterday by the Delhi Police on a FIR registered on the basis of a complaint lodged by the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD).  The BCD alleged that the minister forged documents, including educational degrees, to enroll as an advocate.

He was remanded to four-day police custody till June 13 by a magisterial court.

Police had sought five-day custody of Tomar, saying his educational certificates were "fabricated" and he was required to be taken to Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh and Bhagalpur in Bihar to ascertain his educational qualification.

Police had told the court that educational certificates which Tomar claimed to be true were fabricated and during their initial probe, the authorities who signed those certificates have denied their genuineness.

The investigating officer (IO) had told the court that on the basis of a complaint given by BCD, a preliminary enquiry was conducted and after taking reports from concerned universities, an FIR was lodged in the case.

Counsel appearing for Tomar had contended that police had arrested the minister without compliance of the provisions of the law and no notice under Section 160 of the CrPC was served to him prior to his arrest.

An FIR was registered against Tomar on June 8 at Hauz Khas police station and he was booked for alleged offences of cheating, forgery, using forged documents as genuine, forgery with intent to cheat and criminal conspiracy. Tomar was brought to Hauz Khas police station and later shifted to Vasant Vihar police station.

He was today taken to Faizabad by Delhi Police for gathering more evidence.