New Delhi, 06 September 2011: Rajya Sabha MP and former Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh and two former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs were Tuesday arrested and sent to judicial custody for alleged involvement in the cash-for-votes scandal during the July 2008 trust vote in parliament.
Special Judge Sangita Dhingra Sehgal sent Amar Singh as well as Fagan Singh Kulaste and Mahavir Singh Bhagora to judicial custody till Sep 19. Amar Singh, wearing a cream kurta pyjama, looked shocked when he heard the verdict.
He was soon whisked away by policemen. Dismissing the interim bail plea, the judge said: "The application is at prerequisite stage to decide. Therefore, let the prosecution file the replies."
The judge also observed that grounds for interim bail are similar to that of regular bail.
On July 22, 2008, three BJP MPs waved wads of currency notes in the Lok Sabha ahead of a trust vote, alleging they were given the money to vote in favour of the Manmohan Singh government.
The chargesheet alleged that during investigation "sufficient evidence" came on record that on the morning of July 22, 2008, Amar Singh "hatched a criminal conspiracy with his secretary Sanjeev Saxena to deliver cash of Rs.1 crore as illegal gratification".