Court rejects Amar Singh's bail, terms his role major in scam

New Delhi, Sep 28 (PTI) Rajya Sabha (Upper House of
Indian Parliament) MP Amar Singh faces arrest again in 2008
cash-for-vote scam as a Delhi court Wednesday dismissed his
regular as well as interim bail pleas saying his role was
"major" in the entire episode aimed at "disgracing"
parliamentary democracy.
The court said the incident showed that Singh and other
political functionaries, including arrested Bharatiya Janata
Party (BJP) leaders, in the case "stooped to a level beyond
imagination" aimed at "subverting" the functioning of
Parliament.
"From the material on record, it appears prima facie that
there are fingers which point that the accused (Singh) played
a major role in the entire episode which came to light on July
22, 2008, during the debate on the motion of confidence in the
Lok Sabha (Lower House of Indian Parliament)," Special Judge
Sangita Dhingra Sehgal said.
The court, which also dismissed the bail plea of Singh's
former aide and co-accused Sanjeev Saxena, narrated the
incident when Ashok Argal, Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahabir
Singh Bhagora (then BJP MPs) displayed wads of currency notes
of Rs one crore from bags with them and placed the same on the
table of the House.
"And there is no need to discuss the evidence threadbare
and elaborate the same further touching the merits of the case
as it may prejudice the case of the accused applicant (Singh)
as well as the case of other accused," it said.
The court, in its 17-page order, said the present case
has "far-reaching consequences" as it was an attempt to
subvert the functioning of Parliament.
"The accused has been named in an incident which showed
desperate depths to which certain political functionaries and
parties stooped and the exposers represent a gross moral
degeneration which disgraced the sacrosanct parliamentary
democracy," it said.
The court took into account the nature and gravity of the
offence against Singh while declining him the regular bail.
"The nature and the gravity of accusation against the
accused cannot be lost sight of and for the foregoing reasons,
I decline the grant of regular bail to Amar Singh," it said.
"The incident, which is the basis of the present case,
has far-reaching consequences which are beyond imagination and
has a very deep impact on the society at large as an attempt
to subvert the functioning of Parliament and mock the republic
of India has been made," it said.
The court also dismissed the interim bail plea after
relying on the medical reports of the former Samajwadi Party
leader who is being treated for kidney ailments at All India
Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
It, however, left the issue of hospitalization and
possible discharge of Singh to the doctors at the AIIMS.
"The medical reports of the accused were sought from the
director of the AIIMS from time to time. As per the report
dated September 26, the accused is stable but requires
monitoring. I leave it to the good judgement of the
specialists and super specialists at the AIIMS to decide the
period for which the accused is to be kept under observation.
"The interim bail comes to an end today. The regular bail
has been declined, vide separate order," the court said.
Singh was arrested on September 6 after he appeared
before the court in response to the court summons to him for
his alleged involvement in 2008 cash-for-vote scam.
He, however, had to be rushed to the AIIMS from Tihar
jail after a bout of vomitting and diarrhoea on September 12
evening and later the court granted him interim bail on
September 15.