New Delhi: A city court on Friday granted bail to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar in a bribery case related to obtaining a favourable election symbol “Two leaves” from the Election Commission of India (ECI) for one faction of the AIADMK, noting that he has undergone detention for a period more than half of the maximum period of imprisonment specified for the offences he has been booked.
Court imposed certain conditions on Chandrashekhar while granting him bail
Special Judge Vishal Gogne also imposed certain conditions on Chandrashekhar while granting him bail in the case on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh.
“The accused is essentially facing trial for offences punishable with a maximum imprisonment of seven years. His detention for a term beyond seven years entails his mandatory release,” the court said, adding that
The repeated reiteration of “bail and not jail” as a rule in support of the value of liberty by the apex court ought to be honoured when reading the bail-related provisions of law, the judge said, adding that the judicial interpretation of law “must necessarily be bulwark against a police State”.
Chandrashekhar, however, will continue to remain in jail as he he is accused in other cases, including money laundering.
What did Chandrashekhar submit before the court?
Anant Malik, the counsel representing Chandrashekhar, submitted that he has suffered detention in the case for a duration exceeding seven years and four months upon being apprehended on April 15, 2017 when none of the offences with which he has been charged contemplate punishment for a duration more than seven years. The counsel, while seeking the release of Chandrashekhar on bail, further submitted that the proceedings of the there is no reasonable prospect of the trial concluding in the near future as the trial having been stayed by the orders of the Supreme Court as well as the Delhi High Court.
Prosecution opposed Chandrashekhar’s plea for bail
The prosecution, on the other hand opposed Chandrashekhar’s bail plea citing the gravity of the allegations relating to purported recovery of a case amount of RS 1.3 crores in cash intended to be used for exercising influence with the Election Commission of India for obtaining a favourable election symbol for one faction of the AIADMK. It further submitted that the delay in the trial and the consequent long detention of Chandrashekhar has been occasioned only on account of him having challenged the order on charge and the proceedings then having been stayed by the High Court.
The court, however, said that the delay in proceedings was not capable of being ascribed to Chandrashekhar as he was entitled to exercise his right and if the proceedings then came to be stayed by the high court or the Supreme Court, he cannot be penalised.
What is the case?
After the demise of J Jayalalthaa, the then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, AIADMK came to be split into two factions – VK Sasikala faction to which one of the accused TTV Dhinakaran belonged and E Madhusudhanan faction – and these factions vied for “Two Leaves” election symbol of AIADMK. The matter was before the Election Commission of India when TTV Dhinakaran allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy with Chandrashekhar and others for a favourable order from the Election Commission of India on payment of gratification of Rs 50 crores to Chandrashekhar.
TTV Dhinakaran purportedly also wanted a favourable order from the Election Commission of India for declaring bye-elections for the DR Radhakrishnan Nagar Assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu at an early date and preferred the bye-elections to be held on May 5, 2017, as he intended to be a candidate and considered May 5, 2017 to be an auspicious date for him. Chandrashekhar also allegedly personated to be a Member of the Rajya Sabha and a false identity card of Rajya Sabha showing him to be a member was found in his possession. It has been alleged that TTV Dhinakaran with the help of other accused persons allegedly sent Rs 2 crores to Chandrashekhar through hawala channels from Chennai to Delhi and out of this, 1.3 crore was recovered from the hotel in Delhi in which Chandrashekhar was staying when the police raided the hotel on a secret information.