Controversial Aam Aadmi Party Member of Legislative Assembly Somnath Bharti, who has been evading arrest for nearly a week, surrendered before police on Monday hours after the Supreme Court ordered him to give up by evening in the domestic violence and attempt to murder case filed by his wife.
Bharti, who was accompanied by his lawyers, reached the Dwarka North police station in his car at around 10.10 pm and made himself available to the police. Wearing a red tee, Bharti flashed the Constitution of India(bare act) which he was carrying as a huge posse of media personnel mobbed his car.
The first information report against the former Delhi Law Minister was registered at the Dwarka North police station following a complaint by his wife Dipika Mitra.
"There was a warrant and I was availing legal remedies till the Honourable Supreme Court directed me to surrender. In compliance with the direction...I am here to surrender," Bharti said, adding, "I was not running away from law. I was only availing the legal remedies guaranteed by the Constitution of India."
Bharti had a tough time to get out of his car and no police personnel offered any assistance.
"This too shall pass and truth shall prevail," Bharti tweeted from an undisclosed location around an hour before he gave up.
A lawyer from Bharti said the legislator's father was unwell and that is why he could not surrender by evening as directed by the apex court. Bharti was "avoiding" and not "evading" police, he added.
Soon after Bharti failed to get relief from the Supreme Court, THE AAP cornered its Malviya Nagar MLA asking him to surrender "immediately" to avoid "further embarrassment" to the party and himself. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also called his party colleague as an "embarrassment".
Bharti failed to get relief from the Supreme Court as it rejected his plea that he be given time till tomorrow to surrender.
"We want him to surrender before appropriate jurisdiction of the police by this evening. We don't intend to pass any further order," a bench comprising Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justice Amitava Roy said while posting the matter for hearing on Thursday.
The bench also rejected a further request by his counsel that he be given time till 7 pm to surrender.
"No, we will not give time. If you want your matter to come on Thursday, you have to surrender today itself," the bench said.
Bharti's counsel and senior advocate Gopal Subramaniam submitted that the whole incident was an outcome of the matrimonial dispute in which, not only the couple, but their two children were also sufferers.
The court should keep this in mind while hearing Bharti's appeal against the rejection of his anticipatory bail by the trial court and the Delhi high court, he contended.
However, the bench said it was not concerned with the issue at this stage and asked how should Bharti have conducted himself as a responsible citizen after dismissal of his plea for anticipatory bail by the trial court and the Delhi high court.
"Not to say you have lost before two courts (the trial and the high court). You went for anticipatory bail before the trial court, you did not succeed. You went for anticipatory bail before the high court, you did not succeed. What is your duty as a responsible citizen?" the bench asked.
"First you surrender, then we will see whether the matter should be referred to mediation centre. We want family dispute to be sorted out but we can't be saying that we will be protecting an absconder.
After Bharti presented himself before the police, he was taken to Dwarka South police station as there was no provision for custody at Dwarka North police station.
At Dwarka South police station, Bharti is to confront the investigating officer of the case and face a series of question which may take several hours, after which he is likely to be arrested, said a senior police officer.
Meanwhile, Bharti's lawyer, Deepak Khosla, said that a bail application shall be moved before a sessions court on Tuesday.
Bharti had on September 23 moved the apex court seeking protection from arrest in the case and a direction to restrain the Delhi police from arresting him till his plea challenging the high court order is decided.
The high court had dismissed his anticipatory bail plea, saying the allegations against him were backed by "documentary proof".
Lipika had filed a complaint of domestic violence with the Delhi Commission for Women on June 10 alleging that her husband had been abusing her since their marriage in 2010. She had also given a complaint to the police in this regard.
The Delhi police then registered a first information report against Bharti under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 498A (cruelty towards wife), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapon), 406 (criminal breach of trust), 313 read with 511 (attempt to cause miscarriage without woman's consent), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Soon after the Supreme Court directive to Bharti, the AAP reiterated its position asking him to surrender "immediately" to avoid "further embarrassment" to the party and himself.
"Party had requested him earlier and requesting him again (to surrender and cooperate). Party has great faith in judiciary and rule of law and believes that justice will be done," senior AAP leader Ashutosh tweeted.
Delhi Commission for Women chief Swati Maliwal went a step ahead and welcomed the apex court's decision, saying it will end his "hide and seek" with the legal process.
Meanwhile, Bharti's lawyer Deepak Khosla made a veiled attack on Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for "not supporting" the embattled AAP MLA, saying he should have taken a cue from Prime Minister Narendra Modi who "stands" by his "loyalists" through "thick and thin".
In a letter to Kejriwal, Bharti's counsel Khosla demanded that the case be taken from Delhi Police and handed over to other agency for a "fair investigation".
He claimed the case has been "blown out of proportion" and urged the chief minister to issue directions to Delhi Police to refrain from using terms such as "absconder" or "professional criminal" to describe the former law minister.
He also sought a meeting with the chief minister to "advance" the objectives of a lawful and fair investigation while protecting the interests of Bharti.
"...if there is one big distinction between Narendra Modi's style of functioning and yours - whether good or bad -- is that he stands by his loyalists through thick and thin.
Cases in point are Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani.... Whereas you (prematurely) shed your support for Somnath Bharti like a hot potato," the lawyer said.
