A Delhi court today dismissed the plea of BSP MP Dhananjay Singh, arrested along with his wife Jagriti Singh in connection with murder of their maid, seeking permission to attend the ongoing winter session of Parliament from judicial custody.
Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Dharmesh Sharma dismissed the plea of Dhananjay, now in judicial custody, saying his similar application had already been rejected by another court on December 10 and his petition was "misuse and abuse of the process of law."
"Without much ado, the contention which has been raised in the present application have already been considered by Daya Prakash, ASJ-II....and the same was rejected vide detailed order dated December 10, 2013.
"The present application is misuse and abuse of the process of law as it seeks to review the earlier order which cannot be done as per law," the court said.
Dhananjay, a BSP MP from Jaunpur constituency in Uttar Pradesh, is now in judicial custody in connection with the case.
He had moved the court seeking interim bail to allow him to attend parliament's winter session contending that Lok Sabha would "consider and transact" many important bills, including Lokpal Bill, Women Reservation Bill, Communal Violence Bill, Telangana Bill, and Judicial Appointment Bill.
His counsel argued Dhananjay has the constitutional obligation and duty to attend Parliament and if permission is not granted, privilege conferred on the MP in Article 105 of the Constitution of India would be defeated.
During the arguments, Delhi Police opposed his plea saying his earlier petition seeking interim bail on the same ground has already been dismissed by ASJ Daya Prakash.
The court dismissed his plea and referred to the judgements passed by the superior courts saying "it was reiterated that no privilege could be accorded to an elected representative to attend legislative proceedings if he is detained under valid order by a court."
Dhananjay and his wife Jagriti Singh, a dental surgeon at the R M L Hospital here, were arrested on November 5 in connection with the death of their 35-year-old maid Rakhi Bhadra, a resident of West Bengal.
Jagriti was arrested under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 344 (wrongful confinement) of Indian Penal Code and Juvenile Justice Act.
The MP, who also faces charges of murder and offences under the UP Gangsters Act, was arrested for allegedly destroying evidence, not informing police about the maid's death immediately and employing a juvenile as domestic help.
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