New Delhi: Refusing to grant Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Somnath Bharti protection from arrest today, a court in Delhi said that his past cases showed that he is "violent and outrageous" at home and in public.
The Delhi High Court also noted that after it stopped the police from arresting Mr Bharti last week, he showed up at a police station at 2 am and "compelled police officers to record his presence." This conduct "cannot be appreciated in any manner," said the court, accusing Mr Bharti of misusing legal protection.
Mr Bharti's lawyer said he would move the Supreme Court immediately. Until he does, the police are free to arrest the former law minister, who has been accused by his wife of domestic violence and torture.
Calling the allegations very serious, the court said as lawmaker, Mr Bharti "should have shown more generosity and responsibility towards his wife and children."
"The petitioner (Mr Bharti) is involved in two more cases in Malviya Nagar," the court noted, which speak volumes and show "that the petitioner is not only violent and outrageous at home but also before the public at large."
This evening, the Delhi Police picked up Mr Bharti's assistant for questioning from the lawmaker's residence and later released him.
Lipika Mitra, whom Mr Bharti married in 2010, has alleged that besides beating and torturing her, he once tried to strangle her and ordered his dog, Don, to attack her when she was pregnant.
Denying the allegations, Mr Bharti told NDTV: "All charges are false. I will prove it. I love my wife." He says that his estranged wife "is being used for political reasons" to embarrass him.
The police told the court that Mr Bharti has to be interrogated in their custody, arguing that he is an influential person.
"The court decision vindicates Delhi Police's stand. We had said his interrogation is necessary for our investigation," said Deepender Pathak, a senior police officer.
Mr Bharti had a controversial stint as law minister of Delhi in the previous 49-day AAP government, when he targeted African nationals in a widely condemned midnight raid. After taking power for the second time, Arvind Kejriwal decided not to include Mr Bharti.