Misled in last hearing, SC junks Congress' ex-MLA's medical bail plea

NEW DELHI : Supreme Court Friday declined to extend medical bail to former Haryana Congress MLA Dharam Singh Chhoker in a money laundering case and expressed its anguish over a wrong statement made by a senior advocate during the previous hearing pertaining to his hospitalisation .

Taking note of the misleading statements of the lawyer which were not substantiated by documents, a bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and R Mahadevan remarked that the politician did not deserve any relief and dismissed his plea. HC had granted him interim medical bail, and he was to surrender on July 12, but he sought an extension before SC.

“We have to say one thing, yesterday a misstatement was made by the senior counsel. Sorry to point it out. What he said was that he was admitted on June 30 in the hospital. His surgery was planned, and on July 2 his surgery was conducted, and he is still in hospital. Now document placed on record is that he is out of the hospital, discharged on July 5. That is good enough to dismiss this,” the bench remarked. SC also noted that senior counsel has changed and some other was appearing for him for obvious reason.

As per the court’s previous order senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appeared for the neta Thursday when the case was adjourned for a day Though the counsel appearing for him requested the court to “condone that defelcation”, the bench turned it down and said, “No, no, we can’t condone this. We don’t expect this from a senior counsel.”