Court defers Hindustani’s bail plea till Sep 20
September 16th, 2011 - 9:47 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Sep 16 (IANS) A Delhi court Friday adjourned till Sep 20 hearing on the bail plea of former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worker Sohail Hindustani, arrested for his involvement in the cash-for-vote scam that stunned paliament in 2008.
On July 22, 2008, three BJP members of the lok Sabha waved wads of currency notes inside the house ahead of the schduled trust vote, alleging they were given the money to vote in favour of the Manmohan Singh government.
Delhi Police filed a charge sheet Aug 24 against former BJP MPs Fagan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Bhagora, former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh, his former aide Sanjeev Saxena, senior BJP leader L.K. Advani’s former associate Sudheendra Kulkarani and Sohail Hindustani.
Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal adjourned the matter after a two-hour hearing and directed Delhi Police to present before the court the CD that bears evidence of the CNN-IBN channel’s sting operation during the vote of confidence the government sought in parliament.
Taking a strong view that the charge sheet failed to detail the role played by Hindustani, the judge told public prosecutor Rajiv Mohan to submit the CD.
“The whole case is based on that CD,” the court said. “It is to be seen what role Hindustani played. The charge sheet only alleges that active role was played by the accused. However, it does not detail the role.”
Defence counsel told the court that Hindustani was not involved in any money transaction.
“The only role (my client) played was that (he) was present when the money was transferred to the three BJP MPs. (He) was a whistle-blower and wanted to expose the horse trading,” counsel said.
He added that the only allegation against Hindustani was that he had a list of MPs who could be enticed with money to vote for the government.
The public prosecutor, however, opposed the submission, saying that it could not be a case of whistle-blowing.
“Whistle-blowing is when you inform the police before taking or giving bribe to anyone. You cannot say you are a whistle-blower when you are caught taking or giving money. The police should have been in loop,” he added.
Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh submitted his passport before the court.
The court had Sep 15, while awarding interim bail to the 55-year-old leader who is admitted to the AIIMS because of his ill-health, asked him to submit his passport and not to leave Delhi without permission.
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- No bail for Advani's former aide, ex BJP MPs - Oct 21, 2011
- Kulkarni appears before court in cash-for-vote scam - Sep 27, 2011
- Cash-for-vote: Cops furnish CD transcripts to accused - May 26, 2012
- Make me cash-for-vote scam witness, not accused: Kulkarni - Oct 01, 2011
- Congress not involved in cash-for-votes: Police (Lead) - Jul 22, 2011
- Amar Singh's bail pleas to be heard Oct 19 - Oct 18, 2011
- Cash-for-votes scam: Amar Singh, three others summoned - Aug 25, 2011
- Action against whistleblowers, not beneficiaries: BJP - Sep 27, 2011
- Government protecting corrupt ministers: Advani - Oct 03, 2011
- Cash-for-vote the scandal of century: BJP (Lead) - Sep 06, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: Kulkarni, four others walk out of Tihar (Lead) - Nov 17, 2011
- Cash-for-votes: Bail for Kulkarni, five others - Nov 16, 2011
Tags: allegation against, bail plea, bharatiya janata party, bjp leader, cnn ibn, currency notes, defence counsel, delhi court, hindustani, l k advani, list of mps, Lok Sabha, mahavir, manmohan singh, money transaction, public prosecutor, special judge, sting operation, trust vote, vote of confidence