HC rejects MP Sasikala Pushpa's anticipatory bail

The Madras High Court Bench here today dismissed an anticipatory bail petition by expelled AIADMK MP L Sasikala Pushpa in connection with alleged ransacking of the house of a lawyer representing her two women domestic aides in a sexual harassment case against her and her family members.
Rejecting the MP's contention that the case had been registered against her for political reasons, Justice S Vaidhyanathan held that her custodial investigation was necessary.
He, however, granted conditional bail to her husband Lingeswara Tilagan and son Pradeep Raja, saying there was no material evidence against them in the case.
The case had been registered on a complaint by the woman advocate seeking action against a gang which had "ransacked" her house at Tirunelveli in her absence on September 11. She had also sought protection for herself and her clients, who are the complainants in the sexual harassment case.

Police had arrested three supporters of the MP -- Harinadar, Ramalingam and Chitrakumar in connection with the attack on the house.
The Judge rejected the MP's contention that the case had been registered against her for political reasons. Such issues could be decided only during the trial, he said.

Further, he said the Supreme Court had earlier granted bail to the MP hoping that she would not cause hindrance in the investigation by influencing the witness.
Police said the accused persons were powerful and the witnesses could be threatened by them.
The confessions of one of the three arrested persons showed that the MP was involved in the attack on the house of the advocate, the court noted.

The judge dismissed the bail petitions of Harinadar, one of the accused, as he had been detained under the Goondas Act, and also the other two alleged accomplices.
He directed the MP's husband and son to appear before the police station concerned twice a day -- in the morning and evening -- until further orders.
Sasikala was expelled from AIADMK in August this year after an alleged altercation with DMK MP Tiruchi Siva at the Delhi airport. Since then she has been alleging that she was being threatened to resign as MP.
The ransacking case is the third against the Rajya Sabha MP. Besides the sexual harassment case, she is also facing another case for allegedly forging documents for filing an anticipatory bail application in the high court earlier.