Court extends Pawar attacker's stay at mental hospital
The youth, who had slapped Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, was today ordered by a Delhi court to stay at the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences (IHBAS) till December 12 for additional tests by a medical board to ascertain his mental health.
Extending the hospital stay of Harvinder Singh, who was admitted at IHBAS for medical tests on December 2 as per a court's directive, Metropolitan Magistrate Jasjeet Kaur asked the institute's medical superintendent to authorise a doctor to produce Singh's medical report personally before her.
The court ordered Singh's additional tests after going through a preliminary report which the institute had submitted to it as per its November 30 order in response to a plea by Singh's counsel that he was suffering from mental illness.
The court adjourned the hearing on Singh's bail plea for the time being and he will be produced in court on December 9, when his judicial custody expires.
Seeking bail for Singh, his counsel said his client is undergoing psychiatric treatment for four years and as per a Supreme Court order, a mentally sick person cannot be held guilty even for killing someone.
"It is only a petty offence of slapping a person by a mentally sick man and the Supreme Court order says a mentally sick person cannot be convicted even if he kills someone," Singh's counsel R S Dhaka said.
Dhaka sought bail for his client alleging that he is being persecuted only because he slapped a sitting minister and an influential person, while not even a case was registered against him for slapping former Telecom Minister Sukh Ram.
"The matter is being highlighted only because the person who sustained the slap is an influential person, while it is only a petty offence which is evident from the fact that when Sukh Ram was assaulted by the same person, not even an FIR was registered."
Public prosecutor Jitendra Sharma, however, opposed the bail plea saying the accused is a threat to society and cannot be allowed to roam free and "cannot be granted bail unless corrective treatment and measures are taken".
"Even if it is accepted that he is mentally sick, he cannot be allowed to roam free. He is not showing any remorse. He still openly says he will repeat the offence," he said.
The court, however, kept Singh's bail plea pending and sought his health report on December 12.
"As per the report, the accused is hospitalised since December 2 and the doctors have sought two-three weeks' time to constitute a medical board and examine him. A report be called from the hospital on December 12 and the medical superintendent is directed to authorise a person to produce the report personally before the court," the judge said.
Singh, a small-time transporter, had assaulted Pawar on November 24 outside an auditorium on Parliament Street after a public function, saying it was a protest against price rise and corruption. Private security guards had overpowered Singh after he had assaulted Pawar.
Singh had also attacked Sukh Ram outside a court here on November 19 after he was sentenced to five years in jail in a 1996 corruption case.
