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Chhagan Bhujbal says arrest illegal, seeks bail
Mr Chaudhary also argued that his client should be enlarged on bail since he was not well.
Mumbai: Terming his arrest as “illegal”, former deputy chief minister and NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday sought bail from the Bombay high court. Bhujbal, who is currently in hospital, has sought bail on medical grounds.
Bhujbal has filed a habeas corpus petition in the court. A habeas corpus petition is a writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into a court, especially to secure the person’s release unless lawful grounds are shown for his or her detention.
Bhujbal is seeking bail saying his arrest by Enforcement Directorate (ED) was not as per the procedures established by law and was illegal. Advocate Vikram Chaudhary on behalf of Bhujbal argued before the division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Dr Shalini Phansalkar-Joshi that the ED had not provided the grounds of arrest to Bhujbal in keeping with the provisions of section 19 of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Hence, his arrest was illegal and he should be granted bail, the lawyer argued.
Mr Chaudhary also argued that his client should be enlarged on bail since he was not well and undergoing treatment in a hospital here. He argued that the lower court has rejected Bhujbal’s bail on medical grounds twice. He, however, has not sought regular bail from the trial court.
