HC grants protection from arrest to AAP MLA till Oct 14

The Delhi High Court today granted protection from arrest to AAP MLA Gulab Singh, who has been accused of assaulting and obstructing a public servant from discharging his duties during a demolition drive carried out here.
A bench of Justice Ashutosh Kumar, while allowing the AAP MLA's anticipatory bail plea, said police will not take any coercive action against him till October 14.
The bench also issued notice to Delhi Police while seeking their status report in the case after verifying the details of allegations levelled against the AAP leader.
"I am giving him protection from arrest till October 14, as he is a public representative but at the same time he will have to maintain peace and will join the investigation as and when asked by the police," the judge said.

During the brief hearing, senior advocate H S Phoolka, appearing for Singh, said that the FIR lodged against him was politically motivated.
He said that all the co-accused in the case have already been granted bail by the trial court and the alleged offences entails a maximum punishment of less than three years.

Countering Phoolka, advocate Anupam S Sharma appointed as a special public prosecutor in the case said that a junior engineer was humilated and assaulted at the instigation of AAP MLA, so his custody for interrogation is required.
The court then directed that the complainant in the case should also be impleaded in the matter.

The anticipatory bail plea of Singh was yesterday mentioned before a bench of justices B D Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva for urgent hearing and was listed for today.
Singh, an MLA from Matiala constituency, had approached the High Court after his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the sessions court here.
An FIR was lodged against Singh at Chhawla police station under section 186 (obstructing public servant in discharge of his public functions, 332 (voluntarily cause hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 353 (assault to deter a public servant from discharge of his duty) and 506 (criminal intimidation) with 34 (common intention) of IPC.

According to FIR lodged on July 21, Singh had allegedly assaulted a junior engineer during a demolition drive carried out in his constitutency.