Sudheendra Kulkarni, a former aide of BJP leader LK Advani, was today arrested in the 2008 cash-for-vote scam and remanded in judicial custody in Tihar Jail after a Delhi court rejected his interim bail plea, the sixth person to be taken into custody in the case.
Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal turned down the interim bail application of Kulkarni, 54, saying it was devoid of merits and fixed hearing on his plea for regular bail on October 1. Till then he will be in judicial custody in Tihar Jail.
With the court threatening to issue arrest warrant against him after he had failed to appear on last two hearings on account of his visit to the USA,Kulkarni today presented himself before the judge and sought relief claiming he was "a whistle blower" who intended to expose corruption.
"There is no reason to deny interim bail to a person whose regular bail is pending [in the court] and who was not arrested during investigation," the counsel for Kulkarni said.
During the arguments, the judge pulled up the prosecution for arresting only some of the accused named in the charge sheet.
"They [prosecution] have no justification for arresting 2-3 accused and leaving others. They cannot pick and choose," the judge said.
Delhi Police, in its charge sheet, has alleged that Kulkarni turned towards Samajwadi Party leaders in a bid to influence the 2008 trust vote of UPA-I government after he failed to make inroads in the Congress camp.
To achieve his design, Kulkarni allegedly "masterminded" the conspiracy to bribe MPs and "directed" co-accused Suhail Hindustani to divert his efforts towards Samajwadi Party leaders who met the BJP MPs ahead of the voting on confidence motion in Lok Sabha, it said.
