AAP MLA Chaitar Vasava gets bail, but cannot go home or to his constituency

The 12-page bail order of the Narmada Sessions Judge NR Joshi has 13 bail conditions, including the MLA’s consent to the “trial proceeding in his absence” at the Narmada court.

He has also been asked to furnish a bond of Rs 1 lakh as well as two guarantors to present a surety of Rs 1 lakh each. “Merely at the time of framing charges or during special depositions, wherever the presence of the petitioner (Chaitar) is required in court, he may remain present. Otherwise, the petitioner has to remain present only through his advocate and furnish an undertaking that he has no objection to the trial proceeding in his absence. Whenever the trial court asks him to be present, he has to comply,” the order states.

The court has also directed Chaitar to present himself before the Dediapada police station, where the FIR was lodged on November 2, through WhatsApp or any other virtual medium as his “physical attendance” is not mandatory. “Until the chargesheet is filed in the case, the petitioner (Chaitar) must appear before the police station concerned between 10 am and 2 pm on the first day of every month, through WhatsApp or any other medium to fulfill the condition of the bail. However, it is not necessary to be present physically at the police station,” the order states.

The court has also asked the police to approach the court with a fresh petition in case Chaitar’s presence is essential.

The court has also barred Chaitar from leaving Gujarat till the completion of trial without prior permission. “Until the trial is complete, the petitioner can stay at any address other than in Narmada and Bharuch district and the details of the address and the phone number have to be provided. Until the completion of the trial, the petitioner may not leave the territory of Gujarat state without the permission of the investigating officer or the trial court,” the court said.

The court has also stated that Chaitar will not be able to “change his alternate address” without the prior permission of the trial court.

As per the bail conditions, Chaitar must also furnish an undertaking that he would not indulge in any criminal act in the future and also surrender his passport or file an affidavit to the effect in case he does not hold a valid passport. The bail conditions also specify that the bail would be null and void if the MLA fails to comply with the conditions. The court has also permitted Chaitar to move the court to expedite the trial against him.

The order came after the court heard the arguments of both the prosecutor as well as defence advocates SK Joshi, HJ Vasava and VS Patil. The court observed that it was “fit to release the accused on conditional bail” as the police had completed its investigation, all the accused were arrested, the police recovered the extortion money and also invoked the penal section for the destruction of evidence after not being able to find the weapon that Chaitar had allegedly used to fire rounds in the air to intimidate the forest officials.

A local court in Dediapada in Narmada district on December 18 had sent Chaitar to judicial custody at the end of the three days police remand in the case of extortion and assault of forest officials. Chaitar, who had evaded arrest for over a month and surrendered on December 14, moved a bail plea in the court on December 18, which was rejected.

As per the FIR lodged at Dediapada police station, Chaitar and his family allegedly abused five forest officials and assaulted one of them on October 30, where he also allegedly fired a round in the air to intimidate the forest officer. The FIR, based on the complaint by the forest officer, has named seven other accused– Shakuntala, Jitendra, farmer Ramesh Vasava and his wife from Jhadoli village and three villagers from Bogaj village including two daughters and a son-in-law of a man named Dungarji Vasava as well as two other unidentified men.

The AAP had slammed the BJP over the case against Chaitar, terming it as politically motivated.