The Delhi High Court today granted bail to former MCD councillor Hiren Tokas who is serving a five-year jail term in a bribery case.
A bench of Justice S Muralidhar allowed the bail plea of Tokas in which he has submitted that there is no one in his family to look after his elderly parents.
The court, however, restrained Tokas from leaving Delhi and directed him to surrender his passport.
"The jail-term (awarded to Tokas) shall remain suspended till pendency of the appeal. He (Tokas) shall surrender his passport and will inform the court prior to leaving the city," the judge said, adding that the convict will also furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with one surety of the like amount.
CBI, however, opposed Tokas contention and said he had made similar submission while seeking interim bail.
Tokas, who has filed an appeal against the trial court's decision, sought the bail citing the poor health of his parents for the relief.
He has said that his father is suffering from cancer and undergoing chemotherapy while his mother is visually- impaired.
A CBI court had on May 29 awarded five years jail term to Tokas, the then MCD councillor of ward number 15 in R K Puram here, for taking a bribe of Rs 20,000 from a shopkeeper in 2003.
The court had also awarded one-year jail term to Subhash Chander Jain who had conspired with Tokas. It had held Tokas guilty for offences punishable under Prevention of Corruption Act.
Tokas and Jain were also convicted for the offence under section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of IPC. The CBI court had granted bail to Jain on a personal bond of Rs 30,000 with one surety of like amount.
According to CBI, Tokas was an MCD councillor in 2003 and he had conspired with Jain to demand illegal gratification of Rs one lakh from Lalit, a shopkeeper, for influencing civic body officials for not getting his alleged illegally constructed shop demolished.
