Sharad Pawar's assailant granted bail

Arvinder Singh, who was arrested for slapping Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar at a function in New Delhi in November, was on Monday granted bail by a Delhi court.

District Judge H S Sharma granted bail to Singh while directing him against indulging in any violent activity in the future. Singh was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 and a surety of like amount.

While pleading for bail, Singh had on December 16 told the court that he had suffered a bout of mental disorder and lost his senses minutes before the incident on November 24, 2011.

Singh said that he had been suffering from a mental disorder and undergoing regular treatment since 2004.

His counsel R S Dhaka had contended that his client had been falsely implicated in the "petty case" of slapping due to political pressure and it was a fit case for bail.

The police had opposed Singh's bail plea, saying he was a threat to society and there was an apprehension that he might repeat his offence.

Singh, a small-time transporter, had assaulted Pawar outside an auditorium on Parliament Street after a public function, saying it was a protest against price rise and corruption.

Singh had earlier slapped former telecom minister Sukh Ram in the Rohini court premises minutes after the politician was sentenced to jail in a corruption case.

Earlier, on December 14, a magistrate had dismissed Singh's bail plea, saying as per the medical report received from the Institute of Human Behaviour and Allied Sciences, he is a patient of "bipolar affective disorder" and requires treatment for two-three weeks before he can be examined by the medical board.

The court had also directed the IHBAS director to get Singh medically examined by a medical board within 10 days and submit the report on December 22.