New Delhi, Oct 28 The Supreme Court has granted three-day temporary bail to Aam Aadmi Party MLA Chaitar Vasava, who was sentenced to seven years in jail by a Gujarat court in a 2023 criminal case, to attend to his ailing step-brother.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Aparesh Kumar Singh, which considered the medical documents placed on record, said the request made by the petitioner merits consideration on humanitarian grounds.
“The critical condition of the petitioner’s step-brother constitutes a circumstance warranting indulgence,” the bench said.
It said no prejudice was likely to be caused by permitting Vasava to attend to his ailing step-brother for a short duration, particularly when his liberty can be adequately regulated by imposing stringent conditions.
The top court passed the order on Tuesday while hearing Vasava’s plea challenging the Gujarat High Court’s October 16 order.
The high court had permitted him to be released on temporary bail for a period of one day from 7 AM to 7 PM to enable him to attend to his step-brother, who is stated to be in a critical condition and undergoing treatment at a hospital in Surat.
Vasava had sought temporary bail for 30 days before the high court.
In its order, the apex court noted that the petitioner was convicted and sentenced to seven-year jail in a criminal case.
It further noted that the high court had on July 31 admitted his appeal against conviction, but his application seeking suspension of sentence was rejected on August 24.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Shadan Farasat, appearing for the petitioner, told the apex court that one-day interim bail granted by the high court was “absolutely inadequate”, having regard to the critical condition of his step-brother, the distance between jail and hospital, and the need to make arrangements for his further treatment.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Gujarat government, opposed the prayer and said the petitioner and his step-brother were “not on talking terms”.
“Having considered the medical documents placed on record and the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, we are of the considered view that the request made on behalf of the petitioner merits consideration on humanitarian grounds,” the bench said.
While modifying the high court’s order, the bench directed that Vasava be released on temporary bail for three days from the date of his actual release, upon furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 to the satisfaction of the jail authority concerned.
“The petitioner shall be escorted by the minimum police security from the concerned jail to Surat and back. The expenses towards police escort, transportation necessitated by the temporary release shall be borne entirely by the petitioner,” it said.
The bench directed that Vasava would not address any public gathering, participate in any political activity, interact with the media or make any public statement during the period of temporary bail.
“The petitioner shall surrender before the superintendent of the concerned jail immediately upon expiry of the aforesaid period of temporary bail, without awaiting any further direction or notice,” it said, while disposing of the petition.
On June 23, a trial court in Gujarat had sentenced Vasava, his wife and seven others to seven years’ imprisonment in a 2023 case of assaulting forest officials and extortion.
The incident occurred on October 30, 2023 and an FIR was registered on November 2, 2023. Out of the nine convicts in the case, the high court had granted bail to Vasava’s wife and some others.
(PTI News)
