Delhi court grants bail to ex-minister Sandeep Kumar (Lead)

New Delhi, Nov 7 : A Delhi court on Monday granted bail to sacked Delhi Minister Sandeep Kumar, who was arrested on the charge of rape.

While granting the bail, Special Judge Poonam Chaudhry directed Kumar to furnish a personal bond of Rs one lakh and a surety of the like amount. Kumar was also ordered to submit his passport in court.

He was asked to neither influence any witnesses not tamper with evidence.

The court asked him to cooperate and join the investigation, whenever required by the police.

Kumar said in his bail plea that he was in custody for nearly two months now whereas the case probe is still incomplete.

He said his conduct since the first information report was filed against him had been good and he had himself surrendered before the police.

The Delhi Police, while opposing the bail plea, told the court that he can try to influence witnesses and the complainant in the case if he was released on bail.

Kumar was arrested on September 3 on a complaint filed with the Sultanpuri police station in north Delhi by a woman who figured in a sex video with him.

He was booked under Sections 376 (committing rape) and 328 (causing hurt with poison, with an intent to commit an offence) of the Indian Penal Code.

The AAP legislator was also charged under Section 67-A (publishing or transmitting material containing sexually explicit act in electronic form) of the Information Technology Act and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

The woman said in her complaint that she was sexually harassed by Kumar at his office-cum-residence in the Sultanpuri area where she had gone to get her ration card made.

The former Social Welfare and Women and Child Development Minister was sacked from the Aam Aadmi Party government after the case came to light. He was also suspended from the Aam Aadmi Party,