Akash Vijayvargiya gets bail in assault case

Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Akash Vijayvargiya, who was arrested three days ago for assaulting a civic official in Indore with a cricket bat, was granted bail on Saturday by a special court in Bhopal.

Additional Sessions Judge Suresh Singh granted bail to Akash, son of BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, in the case of assault as well as in an earlier case where he was accused of staging an illegal protest.

District prosecution officer Rajendra Upadhaya said the MLA was asked to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs 50,000 in the case of assault and of Rs 20,000 in the other case.

Arguing in the special court, which hears cases against MPs and MLAs, Akash's lawyers said that the Supreme Court has ruled that bail can be given immediately after arrest for any offense punishable by less than seven years' imprisonment.

The MLA, who was arrested on Wednesday, was falsely implicated with an aim to sully his image, they claimed.

Opposing the bail plea, the prosecution counsel argued that Akash's act was premeditated and was unbecoming of a lawmaker. It was not an emotional outburst as argued by the defence, he said.

The MLA was elected to make laws and not to take the law in his hands, the prosecutor said.

"Bail to him will send a wrong signal to society," he added.

Parliament made Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) of Indian Penal Code, under which Akash was arrested, non-bailable offences (where bail can not be granted by default) in 2005, he pointed out.

Akash was arrested in another case while he was in judicial custody Thursday, where he is charged under Indian Penal Code Section 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant).

The case was registered after he led a protest on June 4 against power cuts without taking mandatory permissions.

On Thursday, the Indore sessions court refused to hear his bail plea, saying it had no jurisdiction and he should approach the special court set up in Bhopal to hear cases against lawmakers.

Akash, 34, a first-time MLA who represents Indore-3 assembly segment, was caught on TV cameras assaulting municipal officer Dhirendra Singh Bais with a cricket bat Wednesday while opposing demolition of a dilapidated house.

A magistrate's court had sent him in judicial custody till July 11 after his arrest, denying him bail.