JOIN USAfter spending 37 days in police and judicial custody, AIADMK (Amma) leader T T V Dhinakaran was on Thursday granted bail by a Delhi court in the Election Commission bribery case.
Special Judge Poonam Chaudhary granted bail to Dhinakaran and his aide Mallikarjuna while asking them to furnish a personal bond of Rs 5 lakh each and two sureties of the same amount.
The court granted them bail on the grounds that they were no longer required for custodial interrogation and asked them not to influence witnesses or tamper with the evidence. Dhinakaran and Mallikarjuna have been asked to surrender their passports and cannot leave the country without permission from the court.
Dhinakaran was arrested by the Delhi Police Crime Branch on April 25, days after a middleman, Sukesh Chandrasekhar, was apprehended from a hotel in Delhi. While seeking bail, Dhinakaran said there was no reason to keep him in custody and no public servant was made an accused in the case, though he was booked on graft charges.
The police argued that Dhinakaran conspired with others to undermine the sanctity of the electoral process through corrupt means and practices.
Sukesh and “hawala operator” Nathu Singh will remain in judicial custody until June 12. Lalit Kumar, a co-accused also said to be a hawala operator, will remain in judicial custody until June 5.