By IANS,
New Delhi: Senior advocate Ram Jethmalani Monday made a very emotional appeal in a Delhi court while pleading for interim bail for former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh in the cash-for-votes scam, saying his client’s health parameters have reached an “alarming level”. However, the judge was unmoved and reserved the order till Tuesday.
Jethmalani told Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal that Singh’s wife is wheelchair-bound and there is no one to look after his small children. The senior counsel told the court, “It is an appeal to humanity”, and even cited the case of his own daughter, advocate Rani Jethmalani, who had had a kidney transplant and has since been unable to attend court.
“Singh has a wife who is on wheelchair and is a patient herself for the past six years. There are two small children in the house and nobody to look after them. Moreover, the world’s best nephrologist has too in his report said that Singh is unwell and his condition is deteriorating day by day. If granted bail, he would not abscond,” defence counsel told Judge Sehgal.
However, the judge was unmoved and after hearing the over an hour-long arguments reserved the order till Tuesday.
Defence counsel went ahead with his submissions, making arguments on Singh’s health grounds.
He stated that Singh, who had kidney transplant, is suffering from urinary tract infection and his health is deteriorating day by day.
“This case should be considered on humanitarian grounds. My client is not going to die but is really sick. His urinary infection has increased and certain parameters have reached an alarming level,” counsel told the court.
He added: “Even if you (court) say that he would be given the best treatment, jail is not a place where one goes to cure illness.”
Public prosecutor Rajeev Mohan, however, opposed the submission, saying: “There is no doubt that he is not well but it is incorrect to say that his situation is alarming. His condition is stable, though some parameters are slightly above normal.”
He also referred to the reports that came from the Tihar Jail medical officer in a sealed cover which stated that Singh’s condition is stable.
The judge then questioned Jethmalani if he has any submission to make apart from citing the health grounds.
“What is so pressing as far as the medical condition is concerned on Monday?” the judge asked counsel.
Jethmalani, however, continued making arguments in Singh’s favour on different aspects.
Pressing for bail, he argued that there is no allegation against Singh that he arranged or gave money to anybody in the alleged offence.
“Recently L.K. Advani said that the sting was organised by him to expose corruption prevalent in the government. So, the money probably came from a BJP source. Singh did not provide the money. Moreover, as the sting was done to expose corruption, this shows that anything they did was not unlawful,” said defence counsel.
He added, “Sanjiv Saxena (Amar Singh’s then aide), co-accused and Singh’s former aide, has in his statement earlier told the court that he gave the money to the three former BJP MPs, and as the sting was organised by BJP, so the money must have come from the treasurer of the party,” Jethmalani told the court.
The senior advocate also tried to make an emotional approach to the court, saying, “It’s an appeal to humanity. I am a father of a daughter who recently got a kidney transplant. I know how difficult it is to continue daily work in that situation. She was an advocate and since then she has stopped coming to courts. She is not able to do her work too.”
However, the court remained firm.
While concluding the arguments, Jethmalani also asked the court to send Singh to the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Hospital but the court rejected it, accepting the CBI’s submission that he is being given proper treatment in the jail and is stable.
Amar Singh, 55, was arrested Sep 6 and is in Tihar Jail.