Swati Maliwal assault case: Bibhav Kumar arrested

The anticipatory bail plea of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's aide Bibhav Kumar, accused of assaulting AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal, has become infructuous as he has been arrested, the Delhi court that received the plea said today, 18 May.

Kumar was arrested on Saturday, 17 May, two days after an FIR was registered against him at the Civil Lines police station.

Additional sessions judge Sushil Anuj Tyagi, while dictating the order to the court staff on the anticipatory bail plea, noted that additional public prosecutor Atul Kumar Srivastava appeared via videoconferencing around 4:45 p.m. and informed the court that Kumar had already been arrested in the case.

"On court query, the additional public prosecutor for the state submitted that the applicant was arrested at about 4:15 p.m.," the judge said.

The judge noted Srivastava's submissions that Kumar's wife had been duly informed about his arrest.

"Since the applicant (Kumar) has already been arrested, the present application is disposed of, being infructuous," the court said.

"[A] copy of this order [should] be also sent to the investigating officer or station house officer concerned for information and necessary action," it said.

Earlier in the day, the court had reserved its order on the plea.

Kumar is accused of assaulting Maliwal on 13 May at the residence of Kejriwal, who is also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).