A Delhi court on Friday granted bail to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar in a bribery case related to the AIADMK's "two leaves" election symbol, noting that he had undergone detention for a period more than the maximum jail term specified for the offence he was accused to have committed.
Special Judge Vishal Gogne granted the relief to him on a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh.
Chandrasekhar has been accused of acting as a middleman for AIADMK leader T T V Dinakaran and trying to bribe an Election Commission of India (ECI) official to secure the party's two leaves symbol for the faction led by V K Sasikala.
According to the prosecution, Rs 1.3 crore cash was recovered from the accused which was allegedly intended to be used for exercising undue influence with the ECI for obtaining a favourable election symbol for the Sasikala faction of the AlADMK.
Chandrasekhar will, however, remain in jail in other pending cases lodged against him.
The judge said in his order that Chandrasekhar's detention beyond seven years “entails his mandatory release”.
“The accused has admittedly suffered detention beyond the maximum period of imprisonment and his release was not constrained by the law,” the judge noted.
The judge said that the judicial interpretation of law “must necessarily be bulwark against a police State”.
The repeated reiteration of "bail and not jail" as a rule in support of the value of liberty by the apex court ought to be honoured when reading the bail-related provisions of law, the judge said.
He said the delay in proceedings was not capable of being ascribed to the accused as he was entitled to exercise his right.
“If the proceedings then came to be stayed by the high court or the Supreme Court, the cannot be penalised,” the judge said.
The prosecution had opposed Chandrasekhar's bail application citing the gravity of the allegations.
It alleged that the delay in the trial in the case and Chandrasekhar's consequent long detention was caused by him as he challenged the order on charge and the proceedings before the high court.
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