Delhi court charges Somnath Bharti of harassment, criminal intimidation in domestic violence case

A Delhi Court Tuesday charged AAP MLA Somnath Bharti of harassment, cheating and criminal intimidation in connection with the domestic violence case filed by his wife. The court also charged him with the offence causing miscarriage without the woman's consent, causing hurt by dangerous weapons and criminal breach of trust under the IPC.

The court, however, discharged Bharti of the offences of 307 (attempt to murder), 315 (act done with intent to prevent the child being born alive or to cause it to die after birth) and 406 (Punishment for criminal breach of trust) of IPC. Special judge Arun Bhardwaj directed Bharti to appear before it on Wednesday when formal charge would be framed against him under sections 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 417 (punishment for cheating), 498-A (subjecting the woman to cruelty) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation).

"Somnath Bharti is discharged of the offences punishable under Section 307, 315 and 406 of IPC. However, A-1 Somnath Bharti is charged of the offence punishable under Section 324/417/420/498-A/506 Para-I of IPC. "So far as A-2 Kapil Vajpayee, A-3 Baney Singh and A-4 Nitish are concerned, they are discharged of the offence punishable under Section 212 (harbouring an offender) of IPC. Since the case is listed for orders on the charge, the court has deferred adverse orders against A-1 Somnath Bharti for his absence in the court today," the court said.

In the domestic violence case filed by his estranged wife Lipika Mitra, Bharti is an accused along with Vajpayee, Singh and Nitish. The investigators had on April 5, 2016, filed a charge sheet before the trial court in the case, claiming that the woman had alleged that Bharti had endangered the life of an unborn child she was carrying by unleashing his dog on her.

The MLA from Malviya Nagar assembly, who was granted bail in October 2015 after being in jail for eight days, had denied the allegations. Mitra had on June 10, 2015, filed a complaint against him with the Delhi Commission for Women and an FIR was lodged by the police on September 9, 2015, for allegedly subjecting her to domestic violence and trying to kill her.

The AAP leader was arrested in the wee hours of September 29, 2015, after the Supreme Court had ordered him to surrender. The trial court had granted bail to Bharti observing that he was no longer required for investigation and since he was a member of Delhi Assembly, there was no ground of apprehension that he may flee.