Cash-for-vote scam: Amar Singh appears in court

New Delhi: Former Samajwadi Party General Secretary Amar Singh today appeared in the Tees Hazari court in connection with the 2008 cash-for-vote scam. Singh has a production warrant out against him.

Singh, who had moved the court of Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal seeking permission for exemption from personal appearance on health grounds, changed his mind and appeared before the court after watching the proceedings on TV which said he was in hiding.  “I’m ill, I’m not hiding,” Singh told the court.

Meanwhile, Former BJP MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Singh Bhagora appeared in court for their alleged role in the 2008 scam and sought bail.

Earlier Singh’s counsel sought the Rajya Sabha member’s exemption from personal appearance before the court on medical grounds, while counsel for LK Advani’s former aide Sudheendra Kulkarni sought the exemption on the ground that he was currently in the US and even court summons had not been served on him.

The counsel for Singh sought exemption from appearance before the court urging that his client had recently undergone a kidney transplant and was suffering from various health problems including kidney infection and high blood pressure.

As the counsel filed a formal application for exemption for Singh from appearance, the court asked him to submit to it all the medical papers related to Singh’s medical condition.

“Kindly show me the paper (medical report) when kidney transplant took place and what is his condition right now,” the judge said. At this, Singh’s counsel sought two days to furnish all the medical papers to the court, but the judge ordered him to submit them by today itself.

The counsel for Kulkarni said, “Kulkarni is in the USA and he will appear in court within two weeks”.

The two former BJP MPs Kulaste and Bagora, however, appeared before the court and filed their bail application. The court slated their bail pleas for hearing along with those of two other arrested accused, Sohail Hindustani and Amar Singh’s aide Sanjeev Saxena later today.

Taking cognisance of a Delhi Police chargesheet, which indicted the six for their alleged roles in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam, the court had issued summons to Singh, Kulkarni, Kulaste and Bhagora on 25 August, asking them to appear before it.

Hindustani and Saxena, who were lodged in jail following their arrest earlier during the probe into the case, too had been issued production warrant for their appearance in the court.

The Crime Branch of Delhi Police, in its chargesheet, had indicted all the six accused for their roles in the scam, involving payment of bribes to some MPs to win their votes in a trust motion for the Congress-led UPA government.

Regarding the role of Amar Singh, the police has alleged he had “conspired” with Saxena and others to bribe the then MPs, while Kulkarni played an “active role” during the trust motion.

Watch video of Amar Singh in court

PTI