A sacked Delhi police head constable, who was caught on camera hitting a woman with a brick, was on Saturday granted bail by a court in New Delhi which observed there was no evidence to substantiate the charge of bribe against him.
Special Judge Narottam Kaushal granted relief to Satish Chand, who was on May 12 remanded in 14 days judicial custody, saying the offences for which he has been charged under the Indian Penal Code are bailable.
"Counsel for the accused has sought bail on the ground that offence under Prevention of Corruption Act is not made out as demand was towards a challan and not bribe and that all of the IPC offences alleged against him are bailable.
"There being two counter versions of the incident and there being no clear demand of bribe, I am of the opinion that the accused is entitled to bail on furnishing a bond of Rs10,000," the judge said.
The court accepted the contention of advocate Rajiv Mohan, appearing for the sacked policeman, that the woman did not produce her driving licence and registration certificate of her scooty because of which the policeman could not issue a slip for the challan leading to an argument between them.
Opposing the bail plea, public prosecutor Rita Sharma said the conduct of Chand was questionable because as a traffic policeman, he is expected to handle short-tempered commuters tactfully and not retaliate by behaving in the same manner.
Sharma, while reading out the FIR, said the woman had asked for a slip in return for Rs 200 demanded by the policeman but he refused to give it, triggering a heated exchange of words between the two.
The court, however, granted the relief to Chand while accepting the submissions of his lawyer who also produced the Delhi high court's order observing the woman's behaviour as "disgraceful".
"There were newspaper reports also according to which the high court had taken up the matter suo motu saying the woman made inconsistent statements," the judge noted.
Chand's counsel also told the court that a counter complaint will be filed against the woman as soon as the constable comes out of jail.
He said a case will be lodged against the woman for the offences under sections 186 (obstructing public servant in discharging public functions), 353(assaulting public servant to deter him from discharging duty) and 332(voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of IPC.
Chand was suspended on May 11 after the incident and later dismissed from service with immediate effect as the incident triggered widespread outrage.
Chand was arrested after a criminal case was filed against him when a video clip of his attacking the woman at Golf Links in Central Delhi area went viral.
The victim, who was riding a two-wheeler, had alleged that Chand demanded a bribe of Rs 200 accusing her of violating traffic rules and when she refused, he abused her and then hit her with a brick in front of her children.
The video showed the woman picking up a brick and hurling it at the policeman's bike while the constable was seen attacking her with another brick.
The woman had said she suffered fracture in her left hand in the attack while she was coming from a parent-teacher meeting in her daughter's school. At the time of the incident, the woman's three daughters, including her four-month infant, were with her.
"The policeman asked me for my registration papers and licence and demanded Rs 200 for jumping the red light. I insisted that a receipt be issued to me but the cop refused. When I protested he attacked me with a brick," she had claimed.
A case was registered against Chandra at Tuglak Road Police Station under Section 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), Section 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and Section 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees) of IPC and Section 7 (public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect of an official act) of Prevention of Corruption Act.
