Delhi Court Slaps MLA Somnath Bharti With Two Years Of Jail In 2016 Case Of Assaulting AIIMS Staff; AAP Cries Foul

Expressing disgruntlement over its MLA Somnath Bharti's jail sentence by a Delhi court, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has asserted that injustice has been done to Bharti in the judgment of the case of assaulting a security staff at AIIMS campus, reports Hindustan Times.

While stating that the party respects and has full faith in the judiciary, the party said, "However, we feel injustice has happened to Somnath Bharti in this case. Somnath is a very popular leader and is loved by everyone in his constituency. People are quite sad in his constituency as the news of his conviction is spreading."

Bharti has been sentenced to two years of incarceration in a 2016 case in which he along with nearly 300 others also brought down the fence of a boundary wall at AIIMS along with a JCB operator. A fine of Rs one lakh has also been imposed on Bharti in the case by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ravindra Kumar Pandey.

The punishment was pronounced by the court under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 353 (assault or use of criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty) and 147 (rioting). Bharti has also been held accountable under section 3 (mischief causing damage to public property) of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act.