Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s key aide Bibhav Kumar had challenged his arrest in the Swati Maliwal assault case in the Delhi high court The Delhi high court is set to pronounce on Monday its verdict on a petition by Bibhav Kumar, a key aide of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, challenging his arrest by police for allegedly assaulting Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal. The judgment will be pronounced by justice Swarana Kanta Sharma at 2.30pm. The verdict will come on a day when another bench in the high court is expected to consider Kumar’s bail plea that he had moved separately. Kumar approached the Delhi high court two days after the city court denied him bail in the case saying that the allegations made by Maliwal had to be taken on their face value and could not be swiped away. The city court on May 27 noted that a mere delay in registering the first information report (FIR) would not have much impact on the case as the injuries were apparent in the medico-legal case (MLC) after four days. Taking note of the nascent stage of investigation, the judge noted that the apprehension of influencing the witnesses or tampering with the evidence could not be ruled out. Kumar’s petition before the high court said that his arrest was hasty, it circumvented his rights, and it was not in compliance with the provisions of Section 41A of the CrPC and the mandate laid down in Arnesh Kumar v State of Bihar. The said section mandates the cops to issue notice to the person accused of committing an offense before making an arrest without warrant. In Arnesh Kumar, the Supreme Court had formulated guidelines to prevent unnecessary arrests and to ensure that arrests are made only when necessary. The plea underscored that he was apprehended during the pendency of certain legal matters concerning him including an application requesting compliance with Section 41A and an anticipatory bail application and without considering his May 17 complaint.