New Delhi, December 19
The Supreme Court today declined to grant anticipatory bail to Punjabi pop singer Daler Mehndi, an accused in a human trafficking case, and ordered him to surrender before the trial court at Patiala on January 8 if he wanted to keep his bail petition pending.
“We are not prepared to accept the request for the anticipatory bail,” a Bench comprising Mr Justice Doraiswamy Raju and Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat said.
The direction for surrendering before the trial court was given after Daler’s counsel Kapil Sibal pleaded that the bail petition be kept pending and in the meanwhile, Mehndi would present himself before the trial judge on January 8.
Mehndi had allegedly gone underground after appearing before the investigating team of the Punjab police at Patiala Sadar police station on October 27 and 28 as per the Delhi High Court’s order granting him 10 days’ interim bail on October 23.
While posting the hearing on his petition for January 16, the court said Mehndi could move an application before the SP concerned of the area where the case had been registered for providing him protection at the time of surrender.
This direction was issued in view of his counsel’s allegations that the Punjab police had “organised” a demonstration outside Patiala Sadar police station when he had gone there to join the investigation on October 27 as per the Delhi High Court’s order.
