A Delhi court on Friday granted four-day judicial custody to Bibhav Kumar, an aide to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in relation to the alleged assault case involving Swati Maliwal.
The Tis Hazari court approved the prosecution's request for Kumar's judicial custody until May 28. Kumar was initially arrested on May 18 and had been in police custody for five days.
Kumar's lawyer argued against the necessity of his arrest, referencing the Supreme Court's guidelines in the Arnesh Kumar and Satender Antil rulings, which state that arrests should be an exception in cases with punishments less than seven years of imprisonment, even for cognizable offenses.
The Delhi Police confirmed that they had allowed Kumar's family members and lawyer to meet him, following the court's instructions.
The lawyer contended that both judicial and police custody restrict Kumar's freedom. While judicial custody typically lasts 14 days, the police had requested only a four-day remand. He questioned why a longer remand period wasn't sought.
The police lawyer responded that the duration of custody is determined by the investigating agency. After presenting Kumar in court, the police requested that he be placed in judicial custody, stating that further police custody was unnecessary.