The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwals aide Bibhav Kumar in the Swati Maliwal assault case noting that he has been in custody for over 100 days. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan also took into account that the prosecution has proposed to examine more than 51 witnesses and said the trial will take time to conclude.It also noted that since the charge sheet in the case has already been filed, Kumars release will not cause any prejudice to the investigation. "Allegations are that the petitioner, who is personal secretary to Delhi chief minister, assaulted the complainant-victim who is a Rajya Sabha MP... Investigation in the case is complete. Charge sheet has been filed. We are not inclined to hear on the point as to where prima facie offense is made out. Its exclusive domain of trial court. "While we appreciate the concern to keep witnesses free from influence for conclusion of a fair and free trial, we are satisfied that desired protection can be afforded through other measures. Without expressing opinion on merits, we deem it appropriate to grant bail to petitioner," the bench said. Additional Solicitor General S V Raju, appearing for the Delhi Police, opposed the grant of bail at this stage. "There are certain important witnesses who are under his influence. Let them be examined first," Raju submitted while claiming that CCTV footage of the incident has been tampered with. Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, who represented Kumar, said the injuries are simple and the invocation of the offence under Section 308 of the Indian Penal Code (attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was not justified. In order to address the concerns about the possibility of Kumar influencing the witnesses, the bench imposed a number of conditions on him including that he will not be reinstated as a personal assistant to Kejriwal or given any official assignment in the chief ministers office. The top court also restrained Kumar from entering the chief ministers residence till all witnesses have been examined.The petitioner shall not make any public comment regarding the case, it added.

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